United Nations

A/64/97
Distr.: General 23 June 2009 English Original: Arabic/English/ French/Russian/Spanish

General Assembly

Sixty-fourth session Item 19 of the preliminary list* Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba

Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba
Report of the Secretary-General

Summary
In its resolution 63/7, entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General, in consultation with the appropriate organs and agencies of the United Nations system, to prepare a report on the implementation of the resolution in the light of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law and to submit it to the Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. The present report reproduces the replies of Governments and bodies the United Nations system to the request of the Secretary-General for information on the matter.

I. Introduction
1. In its resolution 63/7, entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General, in consultation with the appropriate organs and agencies of the United Nations system, to prepare a report on the implementation of the resolution in the light of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law and to submit it to the Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. 2. Pursuant to that request, in a note verbale dated 9 April 2009, the SecretaryGeneral invited Governments and organs and agencies of the United Nations system to provide him with any information they might wish to contribute to the preparation of his report. A further note verbale was sent on 9 June 2009. 3. The present report reproduces the replies from Governments and organs and agencies of the United Nations that had been received as at 30 July 2009. Replies received after that date will be reproduced in addenda to the present report.

II. Replies received from Governments
Algeria
[Original: French] [22 May 2009] Algeria again expresses its profound concern at the continuation of the economic, commercial and financial embargo unilaterally imposed for nearly half a century by the United States of America against Cuba. In common with the majority of States Members of the United Nations, Algeria has repeatedly called for the lifting of the embargo endured by the Cuban people. For some 15 years, the General Assembly has at every session adopted a resolution calling for the embargo against Cuba to be lifted, considering it to be contrary to international law, and almost all Members have voted for that resolution. Algeria considers that the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba is a violation of the principles of the sovereign equality of States and non-intervention in the internal affairs of another State and impairs the Cuban people’s right to development. Furthermore, the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba violates the national sovereignty of a State Member of the United Nations. The use by a State of its legislation to impose unilateral extraterritorial sanctions blatantly negates the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the rules of international law. In addition to contravening the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, that attitude challenges freedom of trade, navigation and movement of capital, which has a considerable impact on the economic and human development of Cuba. Algeria expresses its profound concern about the grave consequences of this embargo, which is as unjust as it is illegal.

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Algeria expresses its full support for the positions adopted at the Fourteenth Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held in September 2006 in Havana and at the Second South Summit (Group of 77 and China), held in June 2005 in Doha, and for all declarations which have rejected coercive economic measures and extraterritorial laws imposed on developing countries and request the United States to lift the embargo imposed against Cuba. Algeria is therefore renewing its appeal to the United States to lift the embargo imposed against Cuba, an embargo under which 70 per cent of Cuban citizens were born, and one that has been consistently rejected by a growing number of countries, to the point where opposition to it is today almost unanimous.

Angola
[Original: English] [10 June 2009] The Government of Angola once again reiterates its unconditional support for the content of resolution 63/7. The Government of Angola also wishes to emphasize the extent to which it appreciates the importance that the Secretary-General accords to this subject, and appeals to the international community to make efforts towards a stronger engagement of the two countries in a more constructive and fruitful dialogue in order to reach a definitive solution to this problem.

Antigua and Barbuda
[Original: English] [7 July 2009] The Government of Antigua and Barbuda remains fully committed to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular the principle of the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda expresses its concern at the continued promulgation of the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, despite the overwhelming support by Member States for General Assembly resolution 63/7, previous resolutions against the embargo and other relevant international treaties. Further, in accordance with paragraph 2 of resolution 63/7, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda continues to refrain from promulgating or applying laws and measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to the aforementioned resolution, in conformity with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law, which, inter alia, reaffirms the freedom of trade and navigation.

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Argentina
[Original: Spanish] [19 June 2009] The Government of Argentina has fully implemented the provisions of General Assembly resolution 63/7 and previous Assembly resolutions concerning the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba. On 5 September 1997, the Government of Argentina promulgated Act No. 24,871, which establishes the legislative framework governing the scope of application of foreign legislation within the national territory. Under the Act, foreign legislation which, directly or indirectly, is aimed at restricting or impeding the free flow of trade and the movement of capital, goods or persons to the detriment of a given country or group of countries shall neither be applicable nor have legal effects of any kind within the national territory. Article 1 of that Act provides that foreign legislation which, through the imposition of an economic embargo or limits on investment in a given country, seeks to have extraterritorial legal effects in order to bring about a change of Government in a country or to affect its right to self-determination, will also be wholly inapplicable and devoid of legal effect. Argentina’s vote in favour of the adoption of General Assembly resolution 63/7 was an immediate and independent reflection of its traditional position in favour of eliminating this kind of unilateral measure and demonstrated its commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, international law and multilateralism. In this context, Argentina would like to refer to the explanation of vote given by the States members (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and associate members (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) when the resolution was adopted. They aligned themselves with the nearly unanimous rejection by the international community of unilateral coercive measures. Accordingly, on more than one occasion and in various international forums, including the Organization of American States (OAS), the Latin American Economic System (SELA), the Ibero-American and the Latin America and the Caribbean-European Union summits, and the Rio Group, MERCOSUR and its associate members have spoken out in favour of effective multilateralism and the elimination of unilateral coercive measures, which only exacerbate tensions and undermine the international cooperation that is essential in order to achieve development, security and human rights for all. Argentina has been strongly supportive of Cuba’s protest against the embargo. A recent demonstration of that support was given by the President of the Nation in her inaugural address to the Fifth Summit of the Americas, which was held in Port of Spain from 17 to 19 April 2009. As part of the Rio Group, Argentina supported the accession of Cuba as a full member, an event which took place on 13 November 2008 during the Twentyseventh Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Rio Group, held in Zacatecas, Mexico, on 12 and 13 November 2008.

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Within OAS, Argentina took an active part in drafting resolution AG/GT/ARC1/09 of the General Assembly that was held in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on 1 and 4 June 2009, which ended the exclusion of Cuba from the inter-American system that had prevailed since 1962. Furthermore, Argentina has supported the following declarations, that were made in the forums set forth below: • The seventeenth Ibero-American Summit, held from 29 to 31 October 2008 in San Salvador, issued a special communiqué on the need to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba, including the application of the so-called Helms-Burton Act. • The thirty-fourth ordinary meeting of the SELA Latin American Council, held in Caracas on 27 November 2008, adopted a declaration entitled: “End of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”. • The first Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Costa do Sauípe, Bahia, Brazil, on 16 and 17 December 2008, adopted a Special Declaration on the need to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the Government of the United States of America against Cuba, including the application of the so-called Helms-Burton Act.

Armenia
[Original: English] [15 May 2009] Armenian legislation contains no laws or measures of the kind referred to in resolution 63/7.

Australia
[Original: English] [12 May 2009] The Government of Australia reaffirms its position in support of General Assembly resolution 63/7. Since 1996, the Government of Australia has consistently supported Assembly resolutions calling for an end to the trade embargo against Cuba. Australia has no trade or economic legislation or measures that restrict or discourage trade or investment to or from Cuba.

Azerbaijan
[Original: English] [5 June 2009] Azerbaijan firmly upholds the norms and principles of international law in its foreign policy.

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Azerbaijan enjoys friendly diplomatic, economic and trade relations with Cuba. Azerbaijan has not promulgated or applied laws or measures against Cuba that would prohibit economic, trade or financial relations between Azerbaijan and Cuba. Its diplomatic mission in Cuba (Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Havana) was established on 2 September 2007 and the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba was founded in Baku on 14 November 2007. Five cooperation agreements currently exist between the two countries. In order to further develop bilateral relations, the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Cuba was established and is meeting on a regular basis. Foreign trade turnover between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Cuba reached $308,000 in 2008. Azerbaijan will continue to undertake appropriate measures to strengthen cooperation and develop friendly relations with Cuba.

Bahamas
[Original: English] [4 May 2009] The Bahamas enjoys normal diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba. The Bahamas has not promulgated or applied laws or measures against Cuba that would prohibit economic, commercial or financial relations between the Bahamas and Cuba.

Bangladesh
[Original: English] [16 July 2009] The Government of Bangladesh has neither promulgated nor applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7. Bangladesh has consistently supported the aforementioned resolution in the Assembly and voted in its favour.

Barbados
[Original: English] [14 July 2009] The Government of Barbados has no laws that in any way restrict freedom of trade and navigation with Cuba and has consistently voted in favour of resolution 63/7 since it was first introduced in the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session, in 1991.

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Belarus
[Original: English] [10 June 2009] Belarus demands an urgent ending of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. The repeal of sanctions by the United States could be one of the measures taken to normalize intergovernmental relations between the United States and Cuba. Belarus advocates the inalienable right of every State to define its own model of the development of society. Any unilateral attempts by States to change the internal political system of other States using military, political, economic or other measures of pressure are unacceptable. In its foreign policy, Belarus adheres strictly to the principles of international law. The legislation of Belarus does not contain laws, decisions or regulations, the extraterritorial effects of which affect the sovereignty of other States, the legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction or the freedom of trade and navigation. Relations between Belarus and Cuba are characterized by a high degree of cooperation and growing interaction. The development of trade and economic cooperation is given top priority in our bilateral relations. Both countries are mutually interested in increasing the turnover of bilateral trade and implementing joint economic projects in various fields. In 2008, Belarusian exports to Cuba more than doubled compared with 2007 (237 per cent). In May 2009, the Belarus-Cuba Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Relations held its ninth meeting in Minsk. To date, 26 intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements have been signed. Belarus reiterates its intention to further promote the development of friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation with Cuba.

Belize
[Original: English] [18 May 2009] Belize reaffirms its absolute commitment to the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, including, in particular, the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation, which are also the fundamental principles of international law. In strict observance of the Charter and international law, Belize has consistently supported and fully complied with resolutions on the embargo against Cuba, refraining from and rejecting the extraterritorial application of laws and measures. At the bilateral level, Belize continues to engage with Cuba in a constructive and mutually beneficial partnership. Our policy of engagement is further enhanced through regional cooperation between the Caribbean Community and Cuba. In this regard, following the recently concluded Third Summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba, held

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on 8 December 2008, delegates issued the Declaration of Santiago de Cuba, which specifically calls for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against the Republic of Cuba.

Benin
[Original: French] [3 June 2009] Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/7, adopted on 29 October 2008, Benin and Cuba, which maintain excellent relations of cooperation and friendship, organized the eighth session of the Benin-Cuba Joint Commission. That session allowed both parties to devise a programme of economic, scientific and technical cooperation for 2008-2010, with a view to giving their relationship a higher profile. The Government of Benin considers that the commercial, financial and even scientific embargo imposed against Cuba greatly hampers the development of that country, and hopes that it will be lifted, in order to allow the people and Government of Cuba to enjoy their sovereignty, in accordance with the original principles and values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
[Original: Spanish] [8 June 2009] With regard to paragraph 2 of General Assembly resolution 63/7, the Plurinational State of Bolivia reiterates its firm and categorical rejection of the application of unilateral laws or measures for an economic, commercial or financial embargo against any Member State of the United Nations, as well as the use of unilateral coercive measures by any country against another. Bolivia therefore condemns in the strongest terms the prolonged embargo and economic war policies that the Government of the United States has imposed on Cuba for almost 50 years. They have had a direct impact on the Cuban people and especially on the most vulnerable sectors of society. Accordingly, the Plurinational State of Bolivia has not enacted any laws or applied any measures that restrict trade with any country, including the sister Republic of Cuba, as they would be contrary to the purposes of General Assembly resolution 63/7. Bolivia and Cuba have in fact strengthened their relations of cooperation based on solidarity and are committed to extending their existing trade relations. The United States embargo against Cuba of almost half a century is contrary to the purposes, principles and spirit of the Charter of the United Nations and of OAS, and the basic principles of international law. Not only does it seriously harm the Cuban people; it also has an adverse affect on the interests and rights of the American people and of other countries and peoples. The embargo has a particularly adverse affect on the sovereignty of other nations owing to its extraterritorial nature. From the point of view of public

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international law, the extension by the Government of the territorial jurisdiction over legislative matters is contrary sovereignty and non-intervention in the internal decisions of incompatible with the full exercise of the Cuban people’s right and development.

United States of its to the principle of another State and is to free determination

Furthermore, members of the World Trade Organization are strongly opposed to foreign laws that directly or indirectly violate the principle of non-intervention in internal affairs of other States or infringe on their sovereignty. The arbitrary stance taken by the United States in not complying with its rights and obligations disrupts the balance and fairness of those rights and obligations. In addition, it undermines the trust that all members placed in the World Trade Organization agreements. The fact that in the past 17 years Cuba has obtained significant international support against the policy imposed by the United States Government is a sign of the increasing sympathy which the struggle of the Cuban people is eliciting at the international level. The Plurinational State of Bolivia endorses this concerted battle that is being fought on the international front and expresses its support for Cuba and, consequently, its support for General Assembly resolution 63/7, which reflects the repudiation of this type of unilateral measure, as well as its commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, international law and multilateralism. It also affirms its support for the principle of juridical equality of all nations as regards their sovereignty and confirms that this should take priority over any economic dispute. The Plurinational State of Bolivia espouses the new type of economic cooperation and complementarity between countries, based on the principles of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas and the Peoples’ Trade Agreement. Underscoring the spirit of union that underlies bilateral relations benefiting their people, and in order to increase international competitiveness and cooperation and promote trade between Bolivia and Cuba, the First Protocol Additional to Economic Complementarity Agreement No. 47 was signed on 4 February 2009, reaffirming closer ties between their Governments and peoples; it includes market access facilities and complete trade liberalization. The Plurinational State of Bolivia emphasizes that, in spite of the adverse consequences of the embargo imposed by the United States of America, the Government of Cuba has cooperated unconditionally with the Government and people of Bolivia through the donation of ophthalmological hospitals and centres to dispense treatment free of charge to the poorer segments of the population. With regard to education, implementation of the Cuban literacy programme entitled “Yo sí puedo” (Yes, I can) led to Bolivia being declared an illiteracy-free country in December 2008. This support will continue over the next five years with the post-literacy programme “Yo sí puedo seguir” (I can continue), which will benefit approximately one million Bolivians. After learning to read and write, they will have the opportunity to continue their studies, which will improve the educational levels of the Bolivian people. Furthermore, Cuba has offered scholarships to Bolivian students at Cuban universities, so that there are currently over 5,400 Bolivian students studying in Cuba free of charge. They are studying medicine and other specialized fields, thus making a significant contribution to the development of human resources in Bolivia.

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Cuba has also provided many rural settlements in Bolivia with electricity by installing solar panels and has made a significant contribution to the energy saving programme. Since the election of United States President Barack Obama, many presidents, organizations, institutions and international figures have increased their calls for a definitive halt to these illegal policies which are harmful to the Cuban people. The Plurinational State of Bolivia has shown firmness and solidarity in joining this call, in the hope that rationality will prevail, together with respect for a free choice of the economic and political system which best serves the people, without external pressures or irregular policies that constitute a crime against an entire people. The Plurinational State of Bolivia in the various international forums of which it is a member, has unconditionally opposed the embargo against Cuba. At the seventh Summit of Presidents of the member States of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on 16 and 17 April 2009, it expressed the strongest condemnation of the United States embargo against Cuba and demanded an immediate and unilateral end to those policies. At the meeting of the Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago from 17 to 19 April 2009, Bolivia also expressed its support for Cuba in view of the fixed policy of economic aggression and requested President Obama to put an end to that policy. Similarly, at the recent Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, held in Cuba from 27 to 30 April 2009, Bolivia firmly rejected the unilateral measures contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and international law that were being applied by some countries against others, including the United States embargo against Cuba. The President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, His Excellency Mr. Juan Evo Morales Ayma, has reiterated his strong solidarity with the Cuban people and Government in this righteous struggle, and has noted the need for OAS to revoke its decision of 1962 to suspend Cuba from the inter-American system. That would be a positive signal with regard to the intention of the United States to change direction in its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, especially as the highest authorities of the United States had realized that the policy of isolating some countries in the region had had counterproductive results. Despite the recent measures which relaxed the most severe restrictions imposed on Cuba by the Government of President George W. Bush with regard to the contacts of Cuban citizens resident in the United States, the current United States administration has not yet taken the action needed to lift the embargo against Cuba on a definitive and unilateral basis. For all of these reasons, the Plurinational State of Bolivia considers that it is now more important than ever to adopt once again a resolution expressing the need to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, which would be an important contribution to consolidating and supporting the international call for the United States to move towards the definitive elimination of this unfair and illegal policy against the Cuban people. With regard to paragraph 3, the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia has not approved any laws or measures that are contrary to the spirit of General Assembly resolution 63/7.

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Botswana
[Original: English] [4 June 2009] Botswana has never promulgated, applied or enforced any laws or measures of the kind referred to in General Assembly resolution 63/7, nor does it intend to. As reflected in its vote on that resolution, Botswana is opposed to the continued adoption and application of such extraterritorial measures and, in this regard, supports the immediate lifting of the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

Brazil
[Original: English] [4 June 2009] The Permanent Mission of Brazil has the honour to restate its position against discriminatory trade practices and the extraterritorial application of domestic laws. Brazil strongly believes that such practices run counter to the need to promote dialogue and ensure the prevalence of the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. In accordance with General Assembly resolutions 47/19, 48/16, 49/9, 50/10, 51/17, 52/10, 53/4, 54/21, 55/20, 56/9, 57/11, 58/7, 59/11, 60/12, 61/11, 62/3 and 63/7 Brazil has not promulgated or applied any law, regulation or measure with extraterritorial effects that could affect the sovereignty of other States, the legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction or the freedom of trade and navigation. Brazil’s legal system does not recognize the validity of the application of measures with extraterritorial effects. In addition, companies located in Brazil are subject exclusively to Brazilian legislation. Measures by any country that violate the provisions of General Assembly resolution 63/7 or that attempt to compel the citizens of a third country to obey foreign legislation affect the interests of the international community as a whole and violate generally accepted principles of international law. They should be reviewed and changed, where appropriate, in order to bring them into conformity with international law. Furthermore, Governments not complying with General Assembly resolution 63/7 should urgently take further steps to eliminate discriminatory trade practices and bring to an end unilaterally declared economic, commercial and financial embargos. In that regard, Brazil welcomes the current overtures of the Government of the United States and urges all sides to work towards expanding these initiatives to bring about real change for the Cuban people, who suffer the most from the blockade. Direct dialogue with no preconditions should be pursued.

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Burkina Faso
[Original: French] [1 July 2009] In accordance with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law, to which it fully subscribes, Burkina Faso has not promulgated or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble of General Assembly resolution 63/7 of 11 December 2008. Concerned at the suffering of the Cuban people and the repeated undermining of Cuba’s development objectives, Burkina Faso reiterates its call for the ending of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.

Burundi
[Original: French] [21 April 2009] Burundi has never had any laws or measures that conflict with General Assembly resolution 63/7, and has always been in favour of lifting the embargo.

Cambodia
[Original: English] [18 May 2009] The firm position of the Government of Cambodia concerning its support for the lifting of sanctions against Cuba has been consistently expressed during previous sessions of the General Assembly. The Government of Cambodia is of the view that the prolonged embargo has brought too much suffering to the innocent people of Cuba. This illegal embargo clearly violates the human rights of the Cuban people and their right to selfdetermination. Therefore, the time has come to end the sanctions imposed against Cuba. In this connection, the Government of Cambodia wishes to call upon all States Members of the United Nations to take appropriate measures to implement General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Cape Verde
[Original: English] [29 May 2009] In accordance with the principles enshrined in the National Constitution and in conformity with the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations, Cape Verde has never promulgated or implemented any law or measure of the kind referred to in General Assembly resolution 63/7.

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Therefore, consistent with its firm support for the principles of freedom of international trade and navigation, the Government of Cape Verde appeals for the elimination of any unilateral economic or commercial measure that has an impact on the free development of such activities.

Central African Republic
[Original: French] [29 May 2009] As the Central African Republic’s relations with Cuba are fortunately excellent and friendly, the Government keeps fully to the spirit of resolution 63/7. There has been no promulgation or application of laws or regulations of the kind described in the preamble to the resolution.

Chile
[Original: Spanish] [7 May 2009] Pursuant to the resolution, Chile has taken the following action: Declarations At the plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly (sixty-third regular session), held on 29 October 2008, Chile voted in favour of “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”. At the Fifth Summit of the Americas, which was held in Port of Spain from 17 to 19 April 2009, Chancellor Mariano Fernández declared to the press that Chile welcomed the recent decisions of the Government of the United States relating to currency transfers, travel to the island and the authorization of telecommunications activities. According to the information available on the Internet site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister added that Chile was in favour of Cuba joining hemispheric forums and believed that the United States should lift the economic embargo against the island. Meetings and visits The visit paid to Cuba between 10 and 13 February 2009 by the President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet, provided an opportunity for the signature of eight bilateral agreements on health, science and heritage, cooperation, cinema, forestry development and sport, and a memorandum of understanding on biotechnological collaboration between Chile and Cuba. Bilateral meetings between Chile and Cuba, the most recent of which was held on 30 April 2009 in Havana at the Minister for Foreign Affairs level in the context of the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement.

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Agreements and cooperation On 1 April 2009, ProChile and the Centre for the Promotion of Foreign Trade of the Foreign Trade and Investment Ministry of Cuba signed a cooperation agreement that will permit continuous work to be undertaken by both institutions with a view to developing commercial relations between the two countries. The initiative was instituted in February 2009, immediately following a meeting that took place during the visit to Cuba of President Michelle Bachelet. This economic-commercial relationship has its origin in the signature on 20 December 1999 by Chile and Cuba of Economic Complementarity Agreement No. 42 (ACE 42), under the auspices of the Latin American Integration Association. That Agreement entered into force on 1 July 2008, after it had been approved by Congress. Both parties are interested in establishing the administrative council for the Agreement, which would normally comprise the negotiating teams of both parties. It is expected that the council will be established in September 2009. Cuba is currently our most important export market in the Caribbean: exports were worth $70 million in 2008, and the third most significant source of our imports from that region. Furthermore, Chilean capital investments in Cuba under the January 2000 Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and ACE 42 are worth some $115 million. In 2008, Chilean exports to that market were worth $70,818,569, largely comprising powdered milk, horse mackerel and pork. In 2008, imports from Cuba were worth a total of $4,821,444, largely from the purchase of rum and, to a less extent, vaccines. In the area of cooperation, both countries maintain a varied and complementary agenda which includes areas in which Chile is assisting Cuba (forestry sector, agriculture, modernization of the State, and postgraduate diplomas and fellowships), and others in which Cuba is providing Chile with expertise (medical treatment, health programmes, sports, cultural heritage and undergraduate fellowships for 450 Chilean students, particularly in medicine).

China
[Original: English] [20 May 2009] Sovereign equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and other relevant norms governing international relations should be duly respected. Every country has the right to choose, according to its national circumstances, its own social system and mode of development, without interference by any other country. Difference and problems among countries should be resolved through peaceful dialogue and negotiation on the basis of equality and mutual respect for sovereignty. The economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba, which has lasted for too long, serves no purpose other than to keep tensions high between two neighbouring countries and inflict tremendous hardship and suffering on the people of Cuba, especially women and children. The embargo, which remains in effect, has seriously jeopardized the legitimate rights and interests of Cuba and other States, as well as the freedom of trade and navigation, and should

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be lifted in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly.

Colombia
[Original: Spanish] [4 June 2009] The Colombian Government, respecting the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, has neither enacted nor applied any unilateral laws or measures against Cuba or any other Member State, in keeping with its policy of respect for international law and commitment to the principles of political independence, the self-determination of peoples and non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations. Consequently, it promotes the independent development of the internal policies of every nation and believes that any measure that undermines economic and commercial development and the well-being of the population should cease. Colombia believes that Member States should make progress in building cooperative and friendly relations based on multilateralism and respect for the principle of sovereign equality and other provisions enshrined in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Comoros
[Original: English] [14 July 2009] The Comoros reaffirms its obligation under the Charter of the United Nations and thus has not promulgated or applied any laws or regulations with extraterritorial effects of which affect the sovereignty of other States.

Congo
[Original: French] [23 July 2009] The Government of the Congo has continuously adhered to the various General Assembly resolutions entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”. That is equally the case with resolution 63/7 adopted by the Assembly on 29 October 2008 at its sixty-third session.

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Costa Rica
[Original: Spanish] [6 July 2009] Costa Rica is a country that has historically held a firm position in defence of all forms of liberty, and it has categorically rejected any and all unilateral measures taken by a State that may affect the self-determination of peoples and Governments or their freedom to trade with other nations or navigate international waters as established in various international agreements signed and ratified by the country. In that context, Costa Rica strongly supports dialogue and mechanisms established by multilateral organizations as the only means of resolving disputes between States and Governments. Costa Rica also reiterates the fact that unilateral measures violate not only international legal standards but also the rights of persons whose lives are affected by such measures, as is shown to be the case whenever economic and trade embargoes are imposed against a given country. For the reasons cited above, Costa Rica reaffirms its commitment to the provisions of General Assembly resolution 63/7 on ending the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.

Croatia
[Original: English] [2 July 2009] Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, Croatia fully implements General Assembly resolution 63/7 and has never promulgated or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to resolution 63/7.

Cuba
[Original: Spanish] [9 July 2009] 1. Introduction The economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba 50 years ago is the supreme expression of a cruel and inhumane policy that lacks legality and legitimacy and is deliberately designed to cause hunger, disease and desperation among the Cuban people. Nothing has changed in the course of 10 successive United States Administrations other than the renewal of the policy. Nor has anything fundamental changed since the inauguration of the new United States Administration in January 2009. Nothing whatever has been done to implement General Assembly resolution 63/7, adopted on 29 October 2008 by 185 votes in favour and only 3 against. Accordingly, the United States Government, far from ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba, has maintained in effect

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the laws, regulations and practices that underpin it. The political, administrative and repressive machinery has continued to be strengthened with a view to making implementation of the embargo more effective and deliberate. The current United States Administration has continued the application of the embargo against Cuba with great strictness. It has not announced, far less taken, any steps to dismantle the complex framework of legislative and administrative provisions that make up the legal and regulatory basis of the embargo. Nor has it done anything to modify the foundations on which the policy governing the embargo rests. This is demonstrated by the laws and regulations in force, which are enumerated below. (a) Trading with the Enemy Act. This Act was promulgated as a wartime measure in 1917 to restrict trade with nations considered hostile. Its application was widened subsequently to authorize the President to regulate property transactions by one of its nationals involving a foreign country both in wartime and during any other period of national emergency declared by the President. The Act provides the basis for the first embargo regulations imposed against Cuba in 1962. (b) United States Foreign Assistance Act. By this Act, promulgated in September 1961, the United States Congress authorized the President to establish and maintain a total embargo on trade between the United States and Cuba. It also prohibited the granting of any aid to the Government of Cuba. (c) Export Administration Act. Adopted in 1979 as a result of a review of export controls, this Act granted the President the authority to control the export and re-export of goods and technology in general and, in particular, to restrict any exports that might enhance the military potential of any country to the detriment of the national security of the United States. (d) Cuban Democracy Act of 1992. Better known as the Torricelli Act, this piece of legislation was signed by President Bush Senior in October 1992. With it, the United States Government strengthened its economic measures against Cuba and provided policy support for the extraterritorial application of the embargo. Among other restrictions, it prohibited United States subsidiaries in third countries from carrying out transactions with Cuba or Cuban nationals and the entry into United States territory, for a period of 180 days, of vessels belonging to third countries that had called at Cuban ports. (e) Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996. Known as the Helms-Burton Act, it was approved by President Clinton in March 1996. It seeks to discourage foreign investment and internationalize the embargo against Cuba. It codified the provisions of the embargo, limited the powers of the President to lift the embargo and broadened the embargo’s extraterritorial scope. It denied entry into the United States to senior officials (and their family members) of foreign companies that invest in “confiscated” property in Cuba and introduced the possibility of pursuing claims against them in United States courts. (f) Export Administration Regulations. These regulations include a ban on United States exports to Cuba, save for any exceptions specified in the regulation itself or authorized by licences issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security in the Department of Commerce. The regulations are covered in the Trading with the Enemy Act and the Export Administration Act.

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The scale of the legislation and regulations described above demonstrates, furthermore, that no embargo has been as comprehensive or as brutal in its effect on a people as the embargo which the United States has imposed against Cuba. It deserves to be classified, first, as an act of genocide under article 2 (c) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and, secondly, as an act of economic war under the terms of the Declaration concerning the laws of naval war, adopted by the Naval Conference of London in 1909. The embargo against Cuba is not a bilateral matter between our country and the United States. The repeated extraterritorial application of United States legislation and the persecution of companies and individuals of third countries to the detriment of their legitimate interests have a significant impact on the sovereignty of many other States. By virtue of this policy, United States and European companies continue to be penalized for doing business with Cuba. There are many instances of sick Cubans who, even though their lives may depend on new diagnostic means, technologies and drugs, have no access to them because, regardless of whether the latter were produced or are available in a third country, the embargo legislation prohibits Cuba from acquiring them if any component or software comes from the United States. According to a very conservative estimate, as of December 2008 the loss incurred by Cuba as a direct result of the embargo exceeded $96,000 million, and it would have been as much as $236,221 million if the calculation had been performed at current prices in United States dollars. It is not difficult to imagine the advances which Cuba would have made if it had not been subjected to this brutal economic war and therefore deprived of the opportunity of doing so during the past 50 years. In open defiance of the growing clamour inside and outside the United States for the policy to be terminated, the new United States Administration has once again announced its intention of maintaining the embargo against Cuba. Joseph Biden 1 himself, the Vice-President of the United States, has stated the United States intention of maintaining the embargo as a tool for pressuring Cuba. The chapters of this report describe the true scope of the measures adopted against Cuba by the new United States Administration and record the impact of the embargo on Cuba in the period from March 2008 to April 2009. 2. Measures adopted by the new United States Administration The media and diplomatic offensive waged by the United States Administration could lead one to believe, erroneously, that it has begun to dismantle the embargo against Cuba. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, as the following demonstrates: What measures have been adopted by the White House? • Elimination of restrictions on visits to relatives — up to the third degree of consanguinity — by Cubans resident in the United States;

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Statements made within the framework of the Progressive Governance Summit, held in Chile, on 28 March 2009.

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• Elimination of restrictions on the sending of remittances by Cuban Americans to relatives in Cuba up to the third degree, excluding members of the Government of Cuba and members of the Communist Party; • Extension of the range of articles that can be sent in packages as gifts; • Issue of licences that enable United States companies to expand certain telecommunication operations with Cuba. These measures, although they go part of the way towards remedying a gravely unjust situation by restoring the right of Cubans resident in the United States to visit their relatives in Cuba — a right which the Government of George W. Bush took away from them — are inadequate and very limited in scope, since they merely signify the intention of returning to the situation in terms of family relations that existed in 2004, when the economic embargo was at its height. Furthermore, although they do away with all limits on the frequency and duration of the visits in question and restore a broader approach, albeit with restrictions, with respect to the relatives that can be visited, and although they increase the daily level of expenditure that visitors are allowed, they maintain the travel ban for Cubans in the United States who do not have relatives in Cuba. Also, the measures do nothing to restore the constitutional right of United States citizens to travel freely to Cuba, the only country in the world that they are not allowed to visit. With respect to the prospective granting of licences authorizing United States companies to engage in certain telecommunication operations with Cuba, it should be noted that this measure is not a new one. The Torricelli Act established a legal framework for the provision of telecommunication services to Cuba, beginning in 1992. However, since that time, every Administration has limited the granting of licences to telephone communications only and has even restricted the kind of service that United States companies can supply. None of the recently announced measures indicate that those limitations or restrictions will be eased. To date, the measures have simply been announced in the press; no mention has been made of the accompanying regulations. 3. Impact of the embargo on the most socially sensitive sectors The public health and food sectors have been the top-priority targets of the embargo from the start, the purpose being to bring the Cuban people to their knees through hunger and disease. Public health Between May 2008 and April 2009, the impact on the public health sector amounted to $25 million. The economic damage was caused primarily by the need to purchase products and equipment in more distant markets through intermediaries and the concomitant higher prices. The ban on or refusal to grant visas to Cuban scientists and health-care specialists to participate in numerous scientific conferences and events in the United States has prevented them from updating their training, comparing techniques used

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in treating different diseases, and exchanging experiences which, under other circumstances, could be beneficial to both countries. The embargo has had a particularly harsh impact in this area, not just because of the economic consequences but, in particular, because of the suffering caused to patients and their families and the direct impact on the health of the Cuban people. Examples of how the embargo harmed the health sector during the period covered by this report include the following: • Since 2003, the National Centre for Medical Genetics has been trying to purchase automated gene sequencing and fragment analysis equipment, which is essential for researching the origin of the high-incidence diseases that are among the primary causes of death. These include cancer of the breast, colon and prostate, arterial hypertension, asthma, diabetes mellitus and mental illness. Cuba is still unable to purchase this equipment because it is manufactured exclusively by companies with a United States patent, such as Applied Biosystems. • Through the firm Alimport, 2 the Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery ordered a device for the extraction of permanent electrodes from the United States company Cook Vascular Inc., which owns the only patent. This device is essential for patients who have developed septic complications or any other type of dysfunction in an implanted permanent electrode. If the extraction cannot be performed, the patient must undergo life-threatening open chest surgery. Cook Vascular did not respond to Cuba’s request for purchase. • Through Alimport, the firm MediCuba ordered vascular prostheses from C. R. Bard, Inc., endomyocardial biopsy forceps from the Cordis Corporation and devices to inflate balloon catheters from Boston Scientific. Bard replied that it could not give Cuba a price quote for the prostheses owing to the embargo laws, while the other two firms, fearing the consequences, did not reply at all. • The Integrated System for Medical Emergencies was affected by the United States Government’s refusal to allow the Pastors for Peace Caravan to donate three Ford ambulances to Cuba, which cost approximately $24,000 each on the used market. As a result, the ambulances never reached Cuba. The brutal embargo has also had a negative impact on the health of Cuban children: • Paediatric hospitals have been seriously hampered in their efforts to purchase high-quality durable paediatric equipment, such as vesical, intestinal and tracheal catheters and Huber needles for tracheotomies and lumbar punctures, which are manufactured mainly in the United States. • Cuban children with lymphoblastic leukaemia have been prevented from receiving the drug Erwinia L-asparaginase, the trade name of which is Elspar, because the United States pharmaceutical firm Merck refuses to sell it to Cuba.

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Alimport is in charge of managing purchases of food and medical products from United States firms.

Because of the cruel embargo, these children may be prevented from receiving the required medical care expeditiously. The following are some examples of how the extraterritorial application of the embargo has affected the health sector: • The Cuban firm GCATE S.A., which specializes in purchasing technical equipment for the health sector, has encountered serious difficulties with the Dutch company Philips Medical Systems. Philips sold GCATE a set of equipment, which has been installed, but it is now refusing to provide spare parts. The refusal has driven up the cost of the equipment, which now has to be purchased through third countries, and it makes maintenance difficult. Philips justifies this discriminatory treatment by claiming that it is simply enforcing the embargo regulations. • Hitachi, which is not a United States company, is refusing to sell Cuba an electron microscope for use in pathological anatomy. It claims it cannot sell the microscope to Cuba because of the embargo regulations. Cuba has been forced to search for alternatives, which has driven up the final price. • Owing to the embargo restrictions, Toshiba, which is not a United States company either, is refusing to sell Cuba high-technology equipment such as the gamma camera used to study radioactive isotopes in nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging scanners, and high-precision ultrasound equipment. The quality of Cuban health-care services has suffered as a result. Food In addition to dealing with the adverse effects of the global food, energy, economic and financial crises, Cuba has had to surmount the embargo restrictions in an effort to feed its people.

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Although food exports from the United States to Cuba have been permitted since 2000, they are subject to strict regulations, and the issuance of each export licence is a complex and bureaucratic process involving numerous United States institutions. Despite the new Administration’s announcement on 11 March 2009 regarding the granting of general food export licences, the truth is that the United States Government continues to hinder exports to Cuba and has taken no action to facilitate them and comply with the standards, channels and regular practices of international trade. In 2008, Alimport incurred some $154.9 million in losses, as a result of the additional costs caused by the restrictions on its transactions with United States companies. Cuba could have used those resources to purchase from the United States, at average 2008 prices, 339,000 tons of wheat, or 615,000 tons of corn, or 126,760 tons of chicken for the more than 11 million Cubans enrolled in the basic food basket programme. Between April 2008 and March 2009, the agricultural/food sector, which is so important for the country’s food security, incurred $121.8 million in losses as a result of the embargo. The following examples illustrate the situation: • Because of the embargo, Cuba must refrigerate an average of 3.79 million eggs a month, to ensure a steady supply for its people and prevent the effects of sudden shortages, which would not be the case if Cuba could import feed ingredients from the United States. The refrigeration of the eggs costs $5.2 million a year. • During the aforementioned period, the fishing industry incurred $5.4 million in losses, owing to higher tariffs in destination markets, higher transportation costs, exchange rates and the increased risk of damage to merchandise shipped long distances. Examples of how the extraterritorial application of the embargo has affected the food sector include the following: • The Cuban-Canadian joint venture Coracan, which produces and markets instant food products, incurred more than $146,000 in losses as a result of the embargo’s impact on its transactions with companies based in third countries. Examples include the following: • In December 2008, the Canadian company Sensient Flavors, which supplies the food and beverage ingredient orange flavour powder, reported that its head office in Indianapolis, United States, had prohibited it from selling supplies to Cuba. • The Canadian Sethness Products Company informed the management of Coracan that it could not continue supplying powdered caramel colour because of instructions from its headquarters in Chicago, United States. The lack of these ingredients halted production at the Coracan soft-drink plant for more than 15 days and new suppliers had to be found, with the corresponding increase in prices. • The Cuban-French joint venture Los Portales, incorporated to produce soft drinks and other beverages, signed a contract with Latapack-Ball, a United States subsidiary based in Brazil, to supply aluminium cans and ends, for a quoted free-on-board price that was 25 per cent lower than the world market

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price. In February 2009, the firm verbally informed the company’s management that it was not authorized to supply these containers to Cuba, not even through the Nestlé Group. This agreement would have allowed the Cuban-French company to cut its import costs by $4.4 million. • In March, 2009, the company Lactalis USA, a United States affiliate of the French giant Lactalis, a producer of cheese and dairy products, was fined $20,950 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury for not complying with embargo regulations because between February 2004 and March 2007, Lactalis had made unlicensed wire transfer payments in which Cuba or Cuban nationals had an interest. This was the first sanction imposed by the Office after the arrival of President Obama in the White House. Impact of the embargo on other socially sensitive sectors Education and culture have been severely affected by the embargo over the past 50 years. Education The embargo has a negative impact on all levels of education. Despite the efforts of the Cuban Government to guarantee quality education for all, the effects of the embargo can be seen in daily shortages that affect learning, research and scientific work in general. Some examples are highlighted below: • From May 2008 to April 2009, the value of goods imported for the sector was approximately $40 million. Of that total, 8.7 per cent was needed to pay for the transportation of goods from Asian markets. If Cuba had been able to make those purchases in the United States market, it would have had to spend only 3.9 per cent of that amount on transportation. The additional expense incurred amounted to $1.39 million, which could have been used to purchase 40 million pencils, 1 million boxes of plasticine for primary schools and pre-school centres and 550,000 boxes of wax crayons. • Cuban teachers do not have access to up-to-date works from United States writers or research and education centres, because that country’s publishing houses and their affiliates in other countries refuse to sell them to Cuba. Purchasing those materials from remote markets involves high prices due to transportation. • Cuba cannot acquire a range of psycho-educational materials needed for the WPPSI, WAIS and Grace Arthur tests, used to determine the intellectual, emotional and motor development level of children, adolescents or youths with special educational needs, because they are made in the United States. • In the reporting period, the higher education sector suffered losses totalling $3.8 million, owing to the impact of the embargo on production and services, lost revenue from exports of goods and services, lack of access to United States technology, academic programmes cancelled and bank transfers and projects not carried out, among other things. • Access to the Internet, an indispensable tool for universities, is limited because the United States Government prohibits Cuba from having access to submarine

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cables and technologies that would permit a significant increase in the bandwidth available in the country. The education sector is not immune to the extraterritorial effects of the embargo: • The Faculty of Economics of Havana University needs to remodel three elevators. To do so, it must acquire GAL and ECI parts in Canada. In 2008, negotiations were held with a Canadian company that submitted a bid for a total of $11,318. However, after the contract was signed and a letter of credit opened, the purchase could not go ahead because all the parts were from the United States and the manufacturer did not permit the sale to Cuba on account of the embargo. The transaction then went ahead with another supplier, at a cost that was twice that of the aforementioned bid. Culture The application of the embargo policy to the world of culture has deprived both countries of exchanges that have been exceedingly rich throughout history. The embargo has prevented our peoples from enjoying the best of the artistic, literary and cultural expression of the two nations. Some of the most important effects in the period concerned are described below: • In May 2009, the prominent singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, who was to have been a special guest at the concert to celebrate the ninetieth birthday of the famous United States musician Pete Seeger, was refused a visa to travel to the United States. • The company Artex’s rights to sell recording works were severely affected. The embargo prevents the promotion and proper dissemination of musical talent, keeps sales prices pitifully low and limits enjoyment of Cuban music. From May 2008 to April 2009, lost sales amounted to some $130,000. • The Cuban Book Institute suffered in terms of sales of Cuban literature, because it was unable to cash cheques or receive transfers in dollars from foreign publishing companies with which it had signed contracts. The Norma publishing house of Puerto Rico has not been able to make payments for works by authors Nicolás Guillén, Dora Alonso, David Chericián and Roberto Fernández Retamar. • The Cuban Fund for Cultural Property has been particularly affected by higher prices for raw materials and essential inputs for the plastic and applied arts. As in other areas, Cuba is forced to acquire United States materials and media at much higher prices in more remote markets in Europe and Asia. During the period in question, the losses incurred amounted to $636,990. • The Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) faces major constraints to the distribution, exhibition, restoration and conservation of its film assets, because it cannot buy the equipment, technology, spare parts and materials essential for the work involved. It is practically impossible to buy these things outside the United States and what can be obtained through third parties is much more expensive.

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Sports There are also numerous examples in Cuban sports of the embargo’s effects. • Cuba has not been able to purchase liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) equipment, which is now essential for anti-doping control, because the United States Government prohibits United States companies and subsidiaries in third countries from supplying it to Cuba. In addition, the authorities in Washington refuse to allow Cuba to acquire the reagents and reference chemicals needed by anti-doping laboratories. • Conservative estimates put losses at $781,000, due to equipment that cannot be serviced because spare parts cannot be obtained from the United States. Transportation Despite the enormous effort made by the Cuban Government to stimulate the transportation sector and carry out highway repairs to benefit the population, the embargo continues to hinder the country’s development plans. From March 2008 to April 2009, the negative impact on the sector amounted to $357,802,000. • Last March, the United States company Astec Industries, Inc., declined the request for a quotation made by a Cuban entity in connection with the acquisition of equipment for the repair of flexible pavement on the ground that the existence of the embargo regulations would not permit any discussion of the matter. • The company General Cable Corporation, which sells electrical equipment and materials, said on 20 March that it could not establish trade relations with Cuba because it had not been informed of any change in the trade relations between the United States and Cuba and that, unfortunately, trade relations could not be established with Cuba for the time being due to the international laws put in place by the Department of State of the United States. • Naval repairs were also affected by the embargo. Since purchases of the materials and goods needed to carry out these activities were 20 per cent more expensive when purchased in the European market, additional costs of $5.52 million were incurred. • The national road network has 2,886.3 km of roads in fair or poor condition and repairs would cost $327.9 million. In addition, $600 million are needed to complete the National Highway. However, Cuba is denied access to the financing granted by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank for such infrastructure works, because these bodies are controlled by the United States. In the period from November 2007 to April 2009 alone, the Inter-American Development Bank, according to its website, funded highway infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean worth a total of $750,930,000. Impact of the embargo on the external sector of the economy The United States embargo continues to deprive Cuba of significant income from exports of goods and services, hinders the country’s access to external sources of financing and punishes the country with higher prices as it has to relocate trade to more distant markets.

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During the reporting period, the damage caused to the external sector amounted to $242.4 million. One of the main consequences for enterprises in the sector was more expensive foreign financing, because of the implications of the high-risk rating assigned to Cuban operations. The fact that the main risk-rating agencies at the international level are partly or wholly dominated by United States capital, is a determining factor in that rating. Financing can only be obtained at interest rates above international market rates. Moreover, the fact that financing cannot be in United States dollars means that repayment currencies have to be purchased, with the corresponding exchange risk. Losses for these reasons totalled $164.1 million. Some examples that illustrate the damage caused to the sector by the embargo are given below: • Because of the lack of access to the United States market, Cuban exporters of sugar, coffee and honey are forced to trade with less advantageous markets, thereby losing $49.4 million. • Each year, the Cuban company Maprinter has to import significant amounts of plastic resins, most of which are produced in the United States. Given the lack of access to that market, it has to seek alternatives. In 2008, due to price differences with the United States market alone, Maprinter had to pay approximately $1.9 million more than anticipated. The extraterritorial application of the embargo has also inflicted damage on this sector. • In August 2008, a European company, a long-standing supplier of air compressors, informed the Cuban company Maquimport that its parent company had been acquired by the United States company Gardner Denver, Inc., which had ordered the closure of the European company’s branch in Cuba and an end to its dealings with our country. Although the Cuban company had successfully met its outstanding contractual obligations before the closure, faced in 2009 with the need to guarantee the availability of spare parts for nearly 300 pieces of equipment already installed in various factories, health centres and laboratories in the Scientific Pole, it was forced to use intermediaries, with the usual price increases of between 20 per cent and 30 per cent. • In November 2008, a Swedish company informed Maquimport that it would not be able to honour a contract for the supply of equipment for the Cuban sugar industry, because one of the components was of United States origin. The contract was cancelled and sugar production was affected as a result. Activity due to the embargo against the Cuban banking and financial system has continued to intensify. In the reporting period, it became more difficult to use correspondent banks. As a result, transactions have grown more complicated and the normal operations of banking and financial institutions have been further limited. The ban on using the United States dollar for payments was an additional constraint. One consequence of the embargo in the banking sector has been the cancellation of bilateral key exchange codes for the authentication of SWIFT

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messages with Cuba. During the reporting period, one European bank, one Canadian bank and two banks located in Latin America took this step against Cuba. Section 211 of the United States Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999 and further acts of aggression with respect to trademarks The United States Government has continued to take steps to perpetrate the theft of Havana Club, a world-famous Cuban brand. Section 211 of the United States Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999 prevents the Cuban owners of these trademarks or their successors, including foreign companies in Cuba, from benefiting, in United States territory, from the acknowledgement of their rights with respect to trademarks or brand names registered and protected in Cuba. This legislation not only has implications for bilateral relations between Cuba and the United States but also affects multilateral agreements to which both States are parties. Therefore, as early as 2002, the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization decided that section 211 violates the national treatment and mostfavoured-nation obligations of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The Appellate Body requested the United States Government to adjust the legislation to bring it into line with its international obligations. Despite this WTO decision and the subsequent repeated requests of the Appellate Body, the United States Government continues not to comply. This position confirms the lack of political will on the part of the United States authorities to settle this dispute and abide by the rules of international trade. The lack of commitment to international law on the part of the United States Government in its relations with Cuba was proved on 30 March 2009, when the federal judge of the District Court of Washington, D.C., Royce C. Lamberth, rejected a claim by the Cuban company Cubaexport (the legitimate owner of the Havana Club trademark) against the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which denied the licence requested in 2006. The request was rejected on the basis of section 211. In this regard, the spokeswoman of the company Bacardi USA, Patricia Neal, told the EFE Agency that her company welcomed the court’s decision, which, she added, confirmed the decision that the Cuban Government has no rights in the Havana Club mark in the United States. We can imagine what would happen if a country arbitrarily cancelled the registrations of valuable United States trademarks and a company deliberately used them in that market. The international community cannot allow the United States to ignore trade law, the law of international industrial property and the decisions of the WTO Appellate Body. With this action, the United States has set a precedent with unpredictable consequences for trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. Impact of the embargo on other sectors of the Cuban economy Construction sector. From April 2008 to March 2009, this sector sustained losses of around $47.2 million as a result of the embargo, which, without doubt,

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impacted negatively on the country’s ability to implement its plans and to recover from the disasters caused by the passage of three hurricanes in 2008. • Cuba has had to deal with a complex situation relating to the construction and repair of more than 600,000 homes affected by the hurricanes. Of these homes, 90,958 were totally destroyed. However, the embargo prevents the implementation of construction, maintenance and rehabilitation plans, since it obstructs the import of construction materials, products, tools and equipment from other countries and also of raw materials for the domestic production of such items. The impact on home construction programmes is calculated at $7.3 million. • Between March 2008 and April 2009, the distribution company Imeco, an importer of materials and products for home construction, incurred additional costs of $2.3 million because it had to obtain products on distant markets at higher prices and also because it had to cover the cost of country risk. • The company Matco, an importer of construction materials, is obliged because of the embargo to conduct more than 80 per cent of its business in Europe and Asia, which causes delays in its operations and impacts on all the domestic economic activities that depend on these materials. The time between the start of the import management process and the arrival of the products in Cuba is lengthened considerably. At the moment, the average time taken is 11 months, but it could be reduced to five months if Cuba were able to operate in the United States market. • The distribution company Imeco, prevented from importing Westinghouse and Cutler Hammer branded electrical components manufactured in the United States, had to carry out the transaction through the intermediary Conyal S.A.; as a result, it paid significantly more for the products in question. • The aforementioned Cuban companies have submitted requests for proposal to North American companies such as Ring Power Corporation and the Spears Manufacturing Company, including their subsidiaries in third countries, for the purchase of pipes, interior and exterior PVC accessories, construction trucks, and parts and accessories for construction equipment. Not one reply has been received because of fear of the penalties associated with the application of the embargo. The following is an example of the extraterritorial application of the embargo in the construction sector: • The Siemens company (cement division), located in Denmark, refused to supply Cuba with equipment for the new cement factory in Santiago de Cuba because of the application of the embargo. As a result, Cuba was forced to choose a less reliable supplier and the equipment is no longer standardized in all the country’s plants. This has increased inventory costs. The Cuban sugar industry incurred approximately $127.5 million in additional costs during the period under consideration. The country had to spend $76.0 million solely as a result of sourcing agricultural inputs in alternative markets. • During 2008, the potential sugar cane output lost as a result of the embargo amounted to 162,799 tons, equivalent to $44.7 million at the then prevailing market price. The United States policy prevented the acquisition of special

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bearings, packings, metals, spare parts, lubricants and grease for repairing production equipment. The acquisition of trucks, trailers, tyres, combine harvesters, and engine parts and accessories was also blocked. All these products are vital to the sugar industry. The Cuban Civil Aeronautics Institute has not escaped the impact of the embargo. A few examples from the period under consideration demonstrate this: • The Cuban civil aviation system continues to face serious difficulties in obtaining payment for aeronautical services, namely the use of Cuban airspace, provided to United States airlines operating to and from the United States. An example of this is the fine of $100,000 imposed on Spirit Airlines, a United States carrier, for paying its dues to Cuba for the use of Cuban airspace. • The airline Cubana de Aviación S.A. has no licence to overfly United States territory because of the embargo. As a result, it sustained losses of at least $2.4 million in connection with its 800 flights from Canada to the centraleastern region of Cuba alone. • Similarly, because the ban prohibiting United States citizens from visiting Cuba is still in place, Cuban and United States airlines continue to be prevented from providing the corresponding services. In the period under consideration, the income not earned because of the ban and the non-provision of other airport services amounted to $193,832,538. Science, technology and environment activities have also been affected by the United States embargo. • The Cuban Industrial Property Office is prevented from paying the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva for international patent applications. The Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS have refused to carry out the requested transactions because of the extraterritorial application of the provisions of the embargo. The information and communication technology sector has also been hard hit by the embargo, including by United States restrictions on Cuba’s access to the Internet. • Cuba cannot connect to the Internet at an appropriate speed. The current Cuban connection to the network gateway (so-called network of networks) does not allow sufficient bandwidth to meet the country’s needs. Because of the embargo, Cuba has been forced to utilize satellite bandwidth and connections, which are very costly and have limited capacity. The problem could be resolved if Cuba is allowed to connect, without discriminatory conditions or requirements, to the underground fibre-optic cables a few kilometres away from the national territory. The United States authorities have not allowed this. • Cuba has no right to access the services offered by numerous websites. Access is denied when they recognize that the link is established from an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to the Cuban domain .cu. Hence, the only way of realizing there is a problem is by trying to access these sites from Cuba. A case was detected in which any connection with Cuba was denied regardless of where it was coming from. This occurs with the Amadeus travel website (http://www.amadeus.com).

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• In May 2009, the American company Microsoft decided to shut down Windows Live to Cuba. Efforts to connect to it trigger a pop-up: “Microsoft has shut down Windows Live Messenger IM for users from countries embargoed by the United States. Therefore, Microsoft will no longer provide Windows Live service in your country”. • Below are a few examples of other Web pages which deny access from the .cu domain: ◦ Cisco Systems (http://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register.do) — connection technologies, Internet access routers, including digital video equipment; ◦ Solid Works (http://www.solidworks.com/sw/termsofuse.html) — automated design systems; ◦ Symantec (http://www.symantec.com/about/profile/policies/legal) — antivirus software. • Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (ETECSA) has lost on the order of $53.7 million during the reporting period. This is because it cannot gain access to the United States market to purchase specialized equipment, spare parts and other inputs necessary for it to operate properly, forcing it to turn to intermediaries, which significantly drives up the price of the product. During this period, ETECSA had to spend $96,100 more than anticipated in order to obtain additional spare parts and thereby guarantee service. • The Cuban tourism industry has not escaped the adverse effects of the embargo. An estimated $1,214,500,000 in potential income was lost. • The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury has continued to ban commercial transactions with the Cuban tourism industry, including online reservations, ticket purchases, accommodations, aircraft leasing, cruise ship tourism and nautical tourism. In the past year, OFAC ruled that the Sabre global distribution system could no longer reserve rooms at Cuban hotels run by foreign chains. • According to projections by the American Society of Travel Agencies, which tally with those of other sources related to international tourism and, in particular, Caribbean destinations, in 2008, 1.75 million American tourists and cruise ship passengers might have spent their vacation in Cuba, had it not been for the ban by the United States Government. Thus, the Cuban tourism industry lost out on no less than $1,120,000,000 during the reporting period, even after allowing for a decrease in projected daily spending by potential visitors owing to the American economic crisis in the past year. • Canadian airlines are required to disclose to United States authorities information on passengers travelling on flights across United States airspace en route to Cuba 72 hours before flight departure. This new procedure is used by OFAC to monitor United States citizens travelling to Cuba without a licence. • As a result of United States persecution, Cuban tourist agencies are prohibited from advertising in the best online service systems, for example Google, Yahoo and MSN, as they are all American. During the reporting period, the United States Government has continued to limit and block as much as

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possible Cuba’s access to electronic commerce and credit card transactions as a form of payment for Cuban sales. • The embargo is ruling out the purchase of equipment, parts and spare parts on the United States market and from United States subsidiaries and branches in other countries, as well as United States brand technology and services familiar to tourists. Higher prices, larger inventories, and increased freight and loan interest rates make it more expensive for the Cuban tourist industry to obtain supplies. Basic industry, a pillar of the national economy, is under constant attack by the embargo policy. Within this sector, the nickel industry is one of the chief targets and one of the most heavily persecuted by the embargo. During the reporting period, the industry’s losses amounted to $62.9 million. Of that amount, $45.8 million represents export losses, as goods that have been wholly or partially processed from Cuban raw materials may not be imported into the United States, even if they have been manufactured in third countries. A Cuban entity in the basic industry sector solicited a bid from the United States company Armstrong Equipment with a view to acquiring a micronizing mill or grinder module, which are extremely useful in mining operations. For fear the embargo would be applied, a response was never sent. The following are examples of extraterritoriality in applying the embargo to this industry: • Minxia Non-Ferrous Metal Inc., a subsidiary of China Minmetals, was fined $1,198,000 by OFAC for trading in Cuban metals (nickel) without a licence between 2003 and 2006. • The current United States Government fined Varel Holdings $110,000 for exporting technology to Cuba. This company manufactures oil-drilling equipment and, according to an OFAC report, between June 2005 and June 2006, “on 11 occasions, a foreign subsidiary of Varel Holdings exported goods in which Cuba or a Cuban citizen had an interest”. This was the stiffest fine imposed on a company in the current fiscal year. • On 30 April, OFAC reported that the United States company Efex Trade LLC was fined $2,000 for providing money remittance services, in which Cuba had an interest, without a licence. • In July 2008, Platte River Associates in Boulder, Colorado, United States was accused of “trading with the enemy” for allegedly transferring technology to Cuba. It was charged with providing specialized technical computer software and computer training, which was then used to create a model for the potential exploration and development of oil and gas within the territorial waters of Cuba, without first having obtained a licence from the Department of the Treasury. The company executives could face up to 10 years’ imprisonment. • The Brazilian subsidiary of the company Purolite was unable to sell cation resins selective for nickel and cobalt to the Cuban Institute of Materials Science and Technology with a view to the testing of their use in processing laterites. The successful application of these resins could result in significant increases in the recovery of nickel and cobalt and reduced production costs. The Regional Director of Purolite for Latin America stated that his firm could

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not establish commercial relations with Cuba because it was a United States company. The losses incurred by companies in the steelworking industry as a result of the embargo are estimated at $38,164,000. Without these losses, it would have been possible to purchase 139,284 refrigerators or 1,773,423 galvanized tiles capable of roofing 49,261 homes measuring 70 square metres each. • The embargo is causing a shortage of raw materials for the production of some medical equipment. For example, losses of $96,500 were incurred in purchasing steel owing to the need to resort to more distant markets. That sum could have covered the cost of producing the 17 foot- or leg-operated scrub sinks needed in the Neonatology Service of the Eusebio Hernández Gynaecological-Obstetric Teaching Hospital, which serves a large population, or it could have met the needs of the Emergency Department of the Juan Manuel Márquez Paediatric Teaching Hospital. These products are essential for the operating rooms of these hospitals. • The extraterritorial aspect of the embargo affected the Cuban company Acinox when it needed to purchase a 125-MVA transformer for the 220-kV electrical substation of the Cuban firm Antillana de Acero. When it attempted to make the purchase in a Latin American country, the firm Siemens stated that it could not sell to Cuba because, despite being a German company, it followed some United States rules. • Something similar occurred in January 2009. The company Alcoa-Spain denied a request by the Cuban distribution company Alcuba to purchase aluminium profiles. Alcoa-Spain stated that in its response to Alcuba’s request for information on supplying aluminium that, as a company having its headquarters in the United States, it was not allowed to follow up on the request owing to the current restrictions on trade with Cuba. Light industry has also been negatively affected as a direct result of the embargo. Between April 2008 and April 2009, the losses in this sector were calculated to be $18.7 million. • The Cetro company, the Suchel Union and the Texoro company of the Textile Union suffered losses on the order of $1.9 million owing to delays in the arrival of inputs for the production of hand soap and laundry soap, among other products. This delay was caused by the restrictions of the embargo, which made it necessary to purchase them in distant markets. Opposition to the genocidal policy of the embargo against Cuba In recent months, there has been increased international focus on bilateral relations between the United States and Cuba. Clearly, the calls for an end to the blockade against Cuba and to the hostile policy against a small country are stronger and firmer than ever. On 29 October 2008, for the seventeenth consecutive year, the General Assembly of the United Nations, with the support of the vast majority of Member States, adopted the resolution entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against

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Cuba”. Resolution 63/7 was adopted by the highest number of votes ever given to a resolution on this item in the General Assembly. With a vote in favour by 185 of its Member States, the General Assembly reiterated categorically the call to halt this illegal and genocidal policy imposed on the Cuban people by the United States Government. This support by the international community is consistent with its rejection of unilateral economic, commercial and financial measures that have extraterritorial effects and contravene international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter. Many voices are being raised throughout the world in favour of halting this inhuman policy. In the period covered by this report, many declarations have been made demanding an end to this policy. The most prominent of these are: • On 16 May 2008, the Declaration of the Fifth Latin America and CaribbeanEuropean Union Summit, held in Lima, Peru. In one of its paragraphs, the Heads of State and Government of both regions stated the following: “We firmly reject all coercive measures of unilateral character with extra-territorial effect that are contrary to international law and the commonly accepted rules of free trade. We agree that this type of practice poses a serious threat to multilateralism. In this context, and with reference to United Nations General Assembly resolution 62/3, we reaffirm our well-known positions on the application of the extra-territorial provisions of the Helms-Burton Act”. • On 3 October 2008, the Heads of State and Government of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group), meeting at their sixth summit in Ghana, approved the Accra Declaration, in which they “condemn the use of unilateral coercive measures such as illegal sanctions against certain developing countries with a view to preventing these countries from the exercise of their right to determine their own political, economic and social system, and reject the application of unilateral and extraterritorial laws and measures contrary to International Law, such as the Helms-Burton Act”. • On 8 December 2008, the Heads of State and Government of the States members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), meeting at the third Cuba-CARICOM Summit, adopted a declaration calling for “an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo of the Republic of Cuba [and urging] the Government of the United States of America to heed the overwhelming call of the members of the United Nations and to lift with immediate effect the unjust economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against the Republic of Cuba and cease the application of measures adopted as of 6 May 2004 ...”. • On 17 December 2008, the Heads of State and Government of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, meeting in Brazil on the occasion of the First Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on Integration and Development, adopted a Special Declaration on the need to end the economic blockade against Cuba. In it they rejected in the strongest terms the application of laws and measures, such as the Helms-Burton Act, that are contrary to international law, urged the Government of the United States of America to end its application and requested it to comply with the 17 successive resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and end its economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

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• The countries of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) have repeatedly and categorically rejected the United States embargo against Cuba. At their summit meeting held in Cumaná, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on 16 and 17 April 2009, the Heads of State and Government of the States members of ALBA reiterated their condemnation of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba and decided to reiterate the Declaration that all Latin American and Caribbean countries had adopted on 16 December 2008 on the need to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba by the Government of the United States, including the application of the Helms-Burton Act. • At the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordination Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in Havana from 27 to 30 April 2009, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Movement again called upon the Government of the United States of America to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, which, in addition to being unilateral and contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, to international law and to the principle of neighbourliness, is causing huge material losses and economic damage to the people of Cuba. They once again urged strict compliance with General Assembly resolutions 47/19, 48/16, 49/9, 50/10, 51/17, 52/10, 53/4, 54/21, 55/20, 56/9, 57/11, 58/7, 59/11, 60/12, 61/11, 62/3 and 63/7. They expressed deep concern over the increasingly extraterritorial nature of the embargo against Cuba and rejected the strengthening of the measures adopted by the United States Government aimed at tightening the embargo, as well as all the other measures imposed by the Government of the United States against the people of Cuba. • In the Declaration of the Sixth Extraordinary Summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas — People’s Trade Agreement, held in Maracay, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on 24 June 2009, the Heads of State and Government of the member countries reaffirmed their absolute condemnation of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba and reiterated their call for its unconditional, immediate lifting. Opposition to the embargo has been growing significantly, even in the United States: • On 8 May 2008, the Alabama House of Representatives Tourism and Travel Committee adopted a resolution requesting President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Congress to lift the restrictions on travel to Cuba, particularly from the State of Alabama. • On 31 May 2008, the daily newspaper, The Washington Post, published an article by Eugene Robinson entitled “Hard-Line Lunacy on Cuba”, in which he called the United States policy on our country “incredibly stupid (…) childish 3 and counterproductive”. • From 23 to 25 September 2008, the company, Zogby International, and Diálogo Interamericano conducted a poll of 2,700 likely American voters on
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3

Tr. note: The Spanish text includes the word “irresponsible”, at this point, but this does not reflect the original English.

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various issues affecting Latin America. The poll found that some 60 per cent of respondents believed that the United States should revise its policies toward Cuba and should allow its companies to trade with that country. In addition, 68 per cent of respondents believed that all United States citizens should be allowed to travel to Cuba. • On 17 October 2008, the American Science Magazine published an editorial, signed by the Foreign Secretary of the Cuban Academy of Sciences and his counterpart at the United States National Academy of Sciences, which urged the lifting of restrictions on bilateral academic exchanges. • On 24 October 2008, Alberto Rodríguez, representing medical and pharmaceutical firm Cari Med Canada Trading Inc. in Havana at the Eighth Central American and Caribbean Conference on Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Pain, said, “Licenses granted by the US Departments of Commerce and Treasury to sell products to Cuba are extremely restricted and exhaustive. They ask us for completely absurd details”. He called the blockade a “criminal act of genocide and cruelty” because it hinders Cuba’s access to life-saving medical equipment and procedures. • On 4 December 2008, a group of trade, travel and agriculture organizations and associations sent President Obama a letter entitled “Reexamining U.S. Cuba Policy”, in which they asked him to go beyond his campaign promises and to conduct a more comprehensive examination of United States policy. The letter was signed by the authorized representatives of 12 organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the United States Chamber of Commerce, the United States Council for International Business and USA*Engage. That same day, ASTA asked President-elect Barack Obama to lift all restrictions on travel to Cuba. • In November 2008, the Cuba Study Group and the Brookings Institution funded a study, conducted by Florida International University during the three weeks prior to the presidential election, in order to gauge public opinion among Cuban Americans on the issue of United States policy towards Cuba. The survey showed that with regard to remittances: 65 per cent of those polled favoured a return to the pre-2003 situation; 66 per cent favoured allowing travel by Cuban Americans; and 67 per cent supported open travel to Cuba for all Americans. In addition, 79 per cent thought that the embargo had “not worked”, 55 per cent opposed continuing it, 65 per cent supported the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States and 79 per cent thought that the two Governments should hold direct talks on issues of common interest. • On 23 February 2009, a document entitled “Changing Cuba Policy — In the United States National Interest”, prepared by the office of Senator Richard Lugar (Republican — Indiana), was issued and circulated to the Senate as a whole and, in particular, to the members of the Committee on Foreign Relations. After recognizing the failure of United States policy on Cuba, the report makes a series of recommendations, including: replacing the conditionality of the United States approach with rapprochement or progressive compromise; repealing all restrictions on Cuban American travel and remittances; and reviewing the Torricelli and Helms-Burton Acts and the

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reports of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. It also proposed a renewal of bilateral dialogue, the development of a cooperative strategy on migration and the drug problem, and more flexible economic measures. • On 23 February, 14 members of Congress signed a letter to President Obama in which they expressed their support for free trade between Cuba and the United States, pointing out its economic advantages for both nations. Thus, growing numbers of Americans are becoming more aware of the need for a fundamental change in the Government’s policy on Cuba, a key element of which would be the lifting of the economic, trade and financial embargo. Conclusions The United States Government’s conduct between October 2008, when resolution 63/7 was adopted, and May 2009 confirms that the country has taken no steps to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba. On the contrary, there has been flagrant disregard for the General Assembly’s instructions and many of the measures taken have strengthened the embargo policy. An extremely conservative calculation of the direct economic damage to the Cuban people since December 2008 as a result of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba by the United States would amount to $96 million, the equivalent of $236,221 million at the current rate of exchange of the dollar. This sum does not include the direct damage caused to Cuban economic and social targets by sabotage and terrorist acts promoted, organized and financed from the United States. The economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba by the United States Government remains the primary barrier to the country’s economic and social development and to its recovery from the three devastating hurricanes that struck it in 2008. The embargo is a violation of international law. It is contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It is an offence against the right to peace, development and security of a sovereign State. By its nature and its objectives, it is an act of unilateral aggression and an ongoing threat to the stability of a country. It constitutes a flagrant, massive and systematic violation of the rights of an entire people. It also violates the constitutional rights of Americans by infringing on their freedom to travel to Cuba. And, lastly, owing to its extraterritorial nature, it violates the sovereign rights of many other States. Despite the international community’s fervent and increasing calls for the new United States Government to change its policy towards Cuba, lift the embargo and normalize bilateral relations, President Obama’s Government has made no change in the embargo policy. The embargo is not only illegal; it is morally unsustainable. No such sanctions system has been imposed on any other country in the world for such a long period. The United States should therefore lift it without further delay or excuse.

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Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
[Original: English] [7 May 2009] It is the consistent position of the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to oppose all kinds of sanctions, including economic, commercial and financial embargoes on sovereign States. The unilateral and extraterritorial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba constitutes an obvious infringement upon the sovereignty of Cuba, violates the principles and norms of international law and of the Charter of the United Nations, and thus merits the serious concern and denunciation of the United Nations and the international community. The criminal blockade policy against Cuba pursued by the United States for nearly five decades has immensely obstructed the development of Cuba and the well-being of its people and therefore should be terminated without delay, in conformity with the relevant United Nations resolutions and the demands of the international community. The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea fully supports the effort of the Government and people of Cuba to end the embargo by the United States and will continue to further expand and develop economic and trade relations with Cuba in the future.

Democratic Republic of the Congo
[Original: French] [6 May 2009] In paragraph 4 of the resolution, the General Assembly “requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the appropriate organs and agencies of the United Nations system, to prepare a report on the implementation of the present resolution in the light of the purposes and principles of the Charter and international law and to submit it to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session”. The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo wishes to repeat that it maintains and continues to develop good relations with Cuba. The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has therefore always supported all resolutions on the necessity and urgency of ending the embargo on Cuba with a view to finding a satisfactory solution to the issue.

Dominica
[Original: English] [7 July 2009] Dominica has neither promulgated nor applied any laws or measures that in any way hinder the freedom of trade and navigation in Cuba. Dominica opposes the use of coercive actions that are not supported by the Charter of the United Nations and is in full conformity with General Assembly resolution 63/7.

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Dominican Republic
[Original: Spanish] [1 July 2009] In managing its international relations, the Dominican Republic adheres to international norms and principles that support cooperation and exchange among nations — which constitute the underpinning for the Charter of the United Nations and the other norms of international law. It therefore refrains from promulgating and/or applying any laws that are in contravention of those norms and principles.

Ecuador
[Original: Spanish] [27 May 2009] Ecuador highly values its relationship with Cuba and is determined to further strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation and the smooth economic, commercial and cultural relationship which it has with that fraternal country. Ecuador condemns the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba, and demands the immediate and unconditional lifting of all the unilateral measures imposed by that country against the Caribbean nation. The embargo imposed against Cuba violates the basic norms of international law, international humanitarian law, the Charter of the United Nations and the norms and principles that govern the peaceful coexistence of States. The embargo imposed against Cuba has grave economic and social consequences for the Caribbean nation and has created an enormous humanitarian crisis. Ecuador finds it totally unacceptable for unilateral extraterritorial measures to be imposed by a third party. Such measures include those contained in the United States Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and the 1996 Helms-Burton Act. Ecuador, as part of its policy on this issue, promotes international community action, at both the regional and international levels and in political coordination forums, to lift the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba. In that regard, it shares the unanimous and principled positions maintained on the issue by the Ibero-American countries, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 and China.

Egypt
[Original: English] [16 April 2009] The delegation of Egypt has voted in favour of General Assembly resolution 63/7, in line with its consistent view that unilateral sanctions imposed outside the United Nations framework are not a course of action that Egypt can condone.

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Equatorial Guinea
[Original: Spanish] [21 May 2009] The Government of Equatorial Guinea reiterates its position in favour of the lifting of the embargo, sharing the desire of the majority of States Members of the United Nations and the international community as a whole. The position of the Government of Equatorial Guinea on the matter is consistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations as set forth in Articles 1 and 2, which are based, inter alia, on the principle of maintaining international peace and security and on the premise that all States Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with that Charter. The economic, commercial and financial embargo that has been imposed against Cuba for the past five decades continues to constitute an enormous impediment to its comprehensive and harmonious development and the promotion of the well-being of its people. The Permanent Mission of Equatorial Guinea, while appreciating in advance all measures and mechanisms that the Secretary-General of the United Nations sees fit to adopt with a view to the effective implementation of the resolution in question, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, calls for the urgent lifting of the embargo, in order to restore to Cuba its legitimate rights and permit its people to achieve sustainable development.

Eritrea
[Original: English] [1 July 2009] The Government of Eritrea has not promulgated or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in General Assembly resolution 63/7. Eritrea is strongly opposed to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba, which is inconsistent with the principles of international law. Eritrea joins other States in calling for the immediate repeal or invalidation of such laws or measures, which are having adverse effects on the Cuban people and on Cuban nationals living in other countries.

Ethiopia
[Original: English] [11 June 2009] Ethiopia views the continued imposition of an economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba as a violation of the principle of the sovereign equality of States and of non-interference in one another’s domestic affairs. In addition, the embargo has caused huge material losses and economic damage to the people of Cuba.

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The Government of Ethiopia therefore wishes to see the embargo lifted in order for the people and the Government of Cuba to enjoy their sovereignty in accordance with the principles and values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. Ethiopia believes that constructive dialogue is necessary to foster mutual trust and understanding among the nations of the world.

European Union
[Original: English] [1 June 2009] The European Union believes that the United States trade policy towards Cuba is fundamentally a bilateral issue. Notwithstanding, the European Union and its member States have been clearly expressing their opposition to the extraterritorial extension of the United States embargo, such as that contained in the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and the Helms-Burton Act of 1996. In November 1996, the Council of Ministers of the European Union adopted a regulation and a joint action to protect the interests of natural or legal persons resident in the European Union against the extraterritorial effects of the HelmsBurton legislation, which prohibits compliance with that legislation. Moreover, on 18 May 1998, at the European Union/United States Summit in London, a package was agreed covering waivers to titles III and IV of the Helms-Burton Act; a commitment by the United States administration to resist future extraterritorial legislation of that kind; and an understanding with respect to disciplines for the strengthening of investment protection. The European Union continues to urge the United States to implement its side of the 18 May 1998 understanding.

Gambia
[Original: English] [10 June 2009] The Gambia has not promulgated or applied any laws, measures or acts that have extraterritorial effects on the sovereignty of other Member States, the legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction or the freedom of trade and navigation. We continue to be opposed to the enactment or application of such laws or measures against Cuba, which impede the free and smooth flow of international trade and navigation. We also believe that the numerous General Assembly resolutions calling for an end to the decades-old embargo against Cuba should be respected by all. The embargo must come to an end. As a responsible member of the international community, the Gambia therefore joins other Member States in calling for the immediate repeal or invalidation of such laws, measures or policies as they are contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

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Ghana
[Original: English] [10 July 2009] In fulfilment of its commitment to the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and international law, Ghana has steadfastly refrained from promulgating or applying laws whose extraterritorial effects adversely affect the sovereignty of other States, the legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction or the freedom of trade and navigation. Ghana regards Cuba as an important member of the international community with which it has fully entered an economic partnership for the mutual benefit of both countries in the areas of trade, health and education.

Grenada
[Original: English] [8 June 2009] Grenada recognizes, upholds and adheres to the principles of the United Nations, including that of the sovereign equality of States. Consequently, it neither promulgates, applies nor condones any law or measure that would encroach on or undermine the sovereign rights of any State; any law that would restrict or hinder international trade or navigation by any State; or any unilateral application of economic and trade measures that would restrict the free flow of trade. Against this backdrop, Grenada has consistently called for the removal of the measures imposed on Cuba by the United States through its economic, commercial and financial embargo and other austere measures imposed on the Government and people of Cuba over the years to reinforce the intent of this embargo. Grenada reiterates that these measures violate the sovereign rights of all Cubans; contravene the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of States; are counterproductive to the goal of human development through the imposition of unnecessary hardship on the Cuban people; and do not contribute to the peaceful coexistence of a stable society of States. Grenada, therefore, once again unreservedly supports General Assembly resolution 63/7, which calls for an immediate end to the unilateral embargo against Cuba.

Guatemala
[Original: Spanish] [23 June 2009] Guatemala wishes to report that there are no legal or regulatory hindrances to free transit into and out of, or trade with, Cuba; moreover, it is the Government’s policy to reject any coercive measure that is at odds with the norms of international law.

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Guinea
[Original: French] [1 May 2009] The people and Government of Guinea are deeply concerned by the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba and its people, which is a matter to which they accord particular attention. Guinea therefore, in accordance with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law; wishing to honour its international commitments; respectful of the rules, aims and principles that govern the subregional, regional and international organizations and institutions of which it is a member; reaffirming its belief in the principles of equality, the sovereignty of States and non-intervention in the internal affairs of another State; and on the grounds of its belief in freedom of international trade and navigation, demands that this unjust embargo, which has caused the Cuban people so many difficulties and such suffering, should be lifted unconditionally. The Government of Guinea, aware that the embargo constitutes an attack on human rights in particular and international law in general, reserves the right to apply all the provisions of the various resolutions relating to this embargo. Guinea, as it has always done, will vote in favour of any resolution that reaffirms, in the context of the General Assembly, the necessity of finally ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba.

Guinea-Bissau
[Original: English] [21 May 2009] Guinea-Bissau reaffirms that these discriminatory commercial practices and the extraterritorial application of national laws are contrary to the need to promote dialogue and to the proper application of the principles and objectives set forth in the Charter of the United Nations. The Government of Guinea-Bissau did not support any of the resolutions that were adopted against Cuba. Nor did the Government put in place at the national level any mechanisms that might have given effect to such resolutions, considering their unilateral character and the fact that they were contrary to the internal norms applicable to free trade and the free exercise of navigation rights. Guinea-Bissau regrets, therefore, that this blockade of almost 50 years continues to cause serious economic, financial, health and other damage to Cuba. Notwithstanding the fact that in the past 16 years, the General Assembly, backed by a majority vote, has passed successive resolutions on the need to end the blockade, there has been no sign of flexibility on the part of the United States regarding its persistent economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba. Guinea-Bissau recognizes the importance that the Secretary-General attaches to this issue and calls for the implementation of resolution 63/7. It also calls on the international community to continue its efforts to ensure that the two countries can

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engage in a constructive dialogue aimed at establishing normal relations between them. In view of the policy of the new American Administration of maintaining open relations with all countries and promoting respect for the independence and sovereignty of each nation, the Government of Guinea-Bissau is looking forward to a flexible position being demonstrated by the United States Government regarding the lifting of the embargo.

Guyana
[Original: English] [15 June 2009] Guyana has not promulgated or applied any laws or regulations the extraterritorial effects of which affect the sovereignty of other States. It is thus fully in observance of, and is committed to continuing to support, General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Honduras
[Original: Spanish] [23 June 2009] In fulfilment of its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law, Honduras has refrained from promulgating laws and regulatory provisions that might affect its trade relations with Cuba. On the contrary, Honduras is currently negotiating a limited scope agreement with that country.

India
[Original: English] [23 June 2009] India has not promulgated or applied any laws of the type referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7 and, as such, the necessity of repealing or invalidating any such laws or measures does not arise. India has consistently opposed any unilateral measure by countries that impinge on the sovereignty of another country. These include any attempt to extend the application of a country’s laws extraterritorially to other sovereign nations.

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India recalls the Final Document adopted by the Fourteenth Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in Havana on 15 and 16 September 2006, on this subject, as well as other high-level decisions of the Non-Aligned Movement, and urges the international community to adopt all necessary measures to protect the sovereign rights of all countries.

Indonesia
[Original: English] [27 May 2009] The Government of Indonesia fully supports the implementation of General Assembly resolution 63/7 and previous resolutions on the same issue, and has not promulgated or applied extraterritorial laws or measures. Indonesia recognizes the principles regarding the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation, and opposes any extraterritorial laws or measures that are inconsistent with these principles. The application of unilateral and extraterritorial economic and trade measures does not conform to the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and is against international law. Respect for and recognition of the principles of non-intervention and non-interference in internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation must continually be advanced. Indonesia is concerned that the economic and trade embargo will have an adverse effect on the economic and social development of innocent populations that include women and children, thus seriously undermining the international community’s efforts and, in particular, Cuba’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, as well as adding to the existing burdens carried by the Cuban people, particularly in the face of the current economic crisis.

Iran (Islamic Republic of)
[Original: English] [4 June 2009] The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its position that the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba runs counter to the principles of international law governing relations among States and contradicts the letter and spirit of the Charter of the United Nations, which calls for promoting solidarity, cooperation and friendly relations among nations. Such measures continue to adversely affect the living conditions and human rights of the Cuban people and hamper the efforts of the Government of Cuba to achieve internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. In this context, the embargo is constraining the efforts of the Government of Cuba to eradicate poverty and hunger and to promote health and education, which are indispensable means for achieving economic and social development.

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The adoption of the relevant resolutions, with such a wide range of support and for so many years, clearly indicates the strong objection of the international community to unilateral coercive economic measures in general, and the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba, in particular. Furthermore, given that the international community is facing major challenges such as the global financial and economic crisis and the resulting increase in poverty, unemployment and malnutrition, the imposition of embargoes and sanctions will be more unjustifiable than ever and deserve stronger objections and appropriate reactions at the global level. The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly rejects the application of unilateral economic and trade measures by one State against another that affect the free flow of international trade and financial resources, as well as the extraterritorial application and effects of national legislation on the sovereignty of other States. Such actions are contrary to the principles of international law, the sovereign equality of States, non-interference in the internal affairs of States and peaceful coexistence among States. The Islamic Republic of Iran, itself being subject to coercive economic measures, shares the concern of the Cuban people and Government and therefore emphasizes the urgent need to put an end to such measures and to fully implement General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Jamaica
[Original: English] [3 June 2009] The Government of Jamaica remains opposed to the unilateral application of economic and trade measures by one State against another that affect the free flow of international trade. To this end, the Government of Jamaica has not promulgated any law, legislation or measure that would obstruct the freedom of commercial activity, trade or economic cooperation. In keeping with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law, Jamaica has not enacted any legislation or otherwise engaged in any activity that would result in the extraterritorial application of national legislation that would infringe on the sovereignty of a State or its lawful national interests. In particular, the Government of Jamaica reiterates its support for General Assembly resolutions calling for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. Jamaica affirms the position of the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement in opposing and condemning the continued imposition of such unilateral action, which violates the sovereignty and rights of the Cuban people and contravenes the Charter of the United Nations. The Government of Jamaica maintains that constructive engagement and negotiations remain the most acceptable means for advancing peace and stability. The Government of Jamaica reiterates the call made by the General Assembly urging all States that continue to apply such laws and measures to take the necessary steps to repeal or invalidate them as soon as possible.

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Japan
[Original: English] [13 May 2009] The Government of Japan has not promulgated or applied laws or measures of the kind referred to in paragraph 2 of General Assembly resolution 63/7. The Government of Japan believes that the economic policy of the United States towards Cuba should be considered primarily as a bilateral issue. However, Japan shares the concern, arising from the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (known as the Helms-Burton Act) and the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, that if application of such legislation causes undue hardship in relation to the economic activities of the enterprises or nationals of a third country, the legislation is likely to run counter to the provisions of international law regarding the extraterritorial application of domestic laws. The Government of Japan has been closely following the situation in relation to the aforementioned legislation and the surrounding circumstances, and its concern remains unchanged. Having considered the matter with the utmost care, Japan voted in favour of General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Kazakhstan
[Original: English] [26 May 2009] In its foreign policy, Kazakhstan is guided by the principles of international law and supports the right of nations to determine their own way of development. Kazakhstan strongly condemns any unilateral actions involving the use of economic and trade measures by one State, the extraterritorial implications of which affect the sovereignty of another State. In this regard, Kazakhstan calls for an immediate end to such actions against Cuba.

Kenya
[Original: English] [18 May 2009] The Government of Kenya reaffirms its objection to unilateral coercive measures directed at a State Member of the United Nations which violate the Charter of the United Nations and international law. The implementation of unilateral trade measures against Cuba adversely affects the social and economic well-being of the people of Cuba and, because of its extraterritorial nature, the citizens of other countries as well. The majority of the Member States of the United Nations and other organizations, including the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, have called for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. Kenya believes in and upholds the principle of maintaining friendly relations, including commerce, among nations for the promotion of peace

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and security as indispensable ingredients for the social and economic advancement of all people.

Kiribati
[Original: English] [2 June 2009] General Assembly resolution 63/7 involves moral and humanitarian considerations which, when adopted, will positively contribute to improving the general welfare and well-being of the people of Cuba.

Kyrgyzstan
[Original: Russian] [27 May 2009] In accordance with the fundamental principles of international law, including the provisions of the United Nations Charter, the Kyrgyz Republic has not promulgated or applied any laws or provisions with extraterritorial effects that would affect the sovereignty of other States.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic
[Original: English] [12 May 2009] It is unfortunate that the embargo imposed by the United States over the past years against Cuba, an independent and sovereign country, continues to be in effect. Such an embargo, with its extraterritorial implications, has not only hindered the progress of Cuba in its socio-economic development and caused untold suffering to its people, but also violated the principles of international law, the sovereign equality of States and the freedom of international trade and navigation. As far as the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is concerned, in adhering to and complying with all principles and purposes enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and international law, it has neither promulgated nor introduced any laws and measures of the kind referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Lebanon
[Original: English] [5 June 2009] The Government of Lebanon complies with General Assembly resolution 63/7 in accordance with the principles of the United Nations and international law.

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Lesotho
[Original: English] [7 July 2009] Lesotho has consistently reaffirmed its commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, which, inter alia, provides for freedom of trade and navigation. Lesotho strongly opposes all coercive measures, whether political or economic, by any one State against another. In the same vein, Lesotho reiterates its support for the call to lift the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba. The harmful effects of the embargo against the people of Cuba are well-documented.

Liberia
[Original: English] [8 July 2009] The Government of Liberia has not promulgated or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7. The Government of Liberia reaffirms the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, which establishes the freedom of trade and navigation, the sovereign equality of all States and non-interference in the internal affairs of States. The Government of Liberia supports the ending of the unilateral economic and trade embargo against Cuba and will continue to support the latter’s vigorous call for the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial embargo against it.

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
[Original: Arabic] [28 April 2009] The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya reiterates its strong opposition to unilateral measures imposed on States for political purposes and stresses that such behaviour does not help to resolve, but further complicates disputes between States. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has expressed its commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law and has never promulgated or applied laws of the kind referred to in General Assembly resolution 63/7, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. On the contrary, in the past it has itself been the victim of such coercive measures. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya expresses its deep concern at the persistence of some States in imposing unilateral extraterritorial coercive economic measures in clear violation of the principles of international law. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya voted in favour of resolution 63/7 in affirmation of its position in opposition to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba and calls upon States to resolve their differences by peaceful means, avoiding unilateral coercive measures, which constitute a breach of the principles of

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the Charter of the United Nations, a violation of human rights and an obstruction of development efforts, which are one of the lofty objectives of the United Nations.

Liechtenstein
[Original: English] [24 April 2009] Liechtenstein has not promulgated or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7. The Government of Liechtenstein is furthermore of the view that legislation whose implementation entails measures or regulations having extraterritorial effects is inconsistent with generally recognized principles of international law.

Madagascar
[Original: French] [18 May 2009] Pursuant to the principles of the sovereignty equality of States and non-intervention in internal affairs that are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and in accordance with international law, which provides for freedom of trade and navigation, Madagascar has always been in favour of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba, and maintains its solidarity with the other Member States of the United Nations.

Malawi
[Original: English] [1 July 2009] The Government of Malawi enjoys very good relations with the Government of Cuba. Cuba being an ally, Malawi strongly supports the ending of the sanctions imposed against Cuba. The Government of Malawi hopes that the positive steps taken by the current United States administration towards Cuba will eventually lead to the lifting of the embargo, which penalizes not only Cuba, but also its trade partners.

Malaysia
[Original: English] [4 July 2009] Malaysia, along with 184 other Member States of the United Nations, voted in favour of General Assembly resolution 63/7 and has extended similar support for earlier resolutions related to the same subject. Malaysia would like to reaffirm its continuous commitment to the underlying principles of those resolutions, namely the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their international affairs and freedom of

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international trade and navigation. Malaysia strongly believes that no State should ever violate those principles by imposing a unilateral economic, commercial and financial embargo on another State. Malaysia also wishes to reaffirm its full support for the position taken by the Non-Aligned Movement, as stipulated in the Final Document of the Thirteenth Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, adopted in Kuala Lumpur on 25 February 2003, which states the following: “The Heads of State or Government again called upon the Government of the United States of America to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba which, in addition to being unilateral and contrary to the United Nations Charter and international law, and to the principle of neighbourliness, is causing huge material losses and economic damages to the peoples of Cuba. The Head of States or Government once again urged strict compliance with resolutions 47/19, 48/16, 49/9, 50/10, 51/17, 52/10, 53/4, 54/21, 55/20, 56/9 and 57/11 of the United Nations General Assembly. They expressed deep concern over the widening of the extraterritorial nature of the embargo against Cuba and over continuous new legislative measures geared to intensifying it. The Movement also urged the United States Government to return the territory now occupied by the Guantanamo Naval Base to Cuban sovereignty and to put an end to aggressive radio and TV transmission against Cuba”. Malaysia is concerned by the continued application of a unilateral embargo against Cuba, which is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and against the principles of international law. Malaysia urges States that apply or implement such unilateral measures against Cuba to immediately cease their practices and to resolve their disputes amicably through dialogue and negotiation. Malaysia strives to strengthen its bilateral relations with Cuba and other countries based on the principles of mutual benefit and respect. Malaysia firmly believes that relations with Cuba will be further enhanced in various spheres, in particular in the economic and trade sectors, in the absence of the unilateral embargo imposed against the latter by other States. In this context, Malaysia reiterates its full support for the international community’s efforts, as contained in General Assembly resolution 63/7 and other relevant resolutions, calling for an end to the unilateral economic, commercial and financial embargo being imposed by the United States against Cuba.

Maldives
[Original: English] [4 June 2009] Maldives has not enacted any laws or regulations that contravene the provisions of General Assembly resolution 63/7. Maldives does not impose any sanctions against any country without an explicit mandate from the General Assembly or the Security Council of the United Nations or from those international organizations of which Maldives is a member.

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Mali
[Original: French] [24 April 2009] The Government of Mali fully supported General Assembly resolution 63/7 and voted in favour of it. The Government of Mali has neither promulgated nor applied laws or measures whose extraterritorial effects impinge on the sovereignty of other States. It therefore fully supports the provisions of this resolution.

Mauritius
[Original: English] [7 July 2009] The Government of Mauritius has not promulgated or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Mexico
[Original: Spanish] [3 June 2009] The Government of Mexico responded promptly to the Secretary-General’s request for information on resolution 63/7, adopted on 29 October 2008 at the sixtythird session of the General Assembly, which was supported by the Mexican delegation. The Government of Mexico once again states its firm rejection both of the application of unilateral laws or measures imposing an economic embargo against any Member State of the United Nations, and of the use of coercive measures that have no legal basis in the Charter of the United Nations. Mexico underlines that this type of measure has serious humanitarian consequences that are contrary to international law and, moreover, signify the abandonment of diplomacy and dialogue as the appropriate ways of settling disputes between States. Mexico reaffirms its traditional and principled position that any type of political, economic or military sanctions imposed on States can only emanate from a decision or recommendation formulated by the Security Council or the General Assembly. Multilateralism continues to be the best way of settling disputes and ensuring peaceful coexistence between States. Mexico emphasizes that it is through the observance of international law and the rules and principles governing coexistence between nations, even if there are asymmetries or disparities, and through respectful dialogue that States are able to overcome their differences and ensure a climate of international peace. Through various mechanisms, the Mexican Government has shared with the international community its firm position against national laws which are designed to be applied extraterritorially in third countries and run counter to international law.

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In keeping with that position, the Mexican State promulgated the Act on Protection of Trade and Investment against Foreign Norms which Violate International Law, which has been in force since 23 October 1996 and is designed to prohibit acts which affect trade or investment when such acts result from the extraterritorial effects of foreign laws. The Government of Mexico wishes once again to place on record that its bilateral and multilateral relations with other States are based on general principles of international law that govern peaceful and civilized coexistence between sovereign nations in the modern world. The principles enunciated have provided a firm basis and continuity in the relations between Mexico and Cuba. Accordingly, the Government of Mexico, in a gesture full of meaning for the relations between the two countries, voted in favour of the resolution which the Government of Cuba submitted to the United Nations General Assembly for adoption for the first time in 1992, with a view to rejecting and ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the Government of the United States against Cuba. Since then, Mexico has reconfirmed the principles of its foreign policy and has voted in favour of the resolution on this item which the Government of Cuba has submitted to the General Assembly for adoption every year for the past 17 years. The Government of Mexico has also consistently opposed Cuba’s economic and political-diplomatic isolation. It has therefore firmly supported Cuba’s inclusion in all regional integration machinery in order to promote economic and commercial exchange, cooperation and development. Mexico and Cuba maintain unbreakable historical ties, sustained in a climate of renewed trust, consistently respecting the purposes and principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations and in particular peaceful coexistence, respect for the sovereignty and sovereign equality of States, and non-interference in their internal affairs. On this basis, opportunities for cooperation and respectful dialogue have been encouraged by Mexico through bilateral dialogue and in the competent regional and international forums and mechanisms. The relationship between Mexico and Cuba is following a constructive course, so that exchanges can be enhanced, inter alia, in political, social, economic, commercial, financial and educational areas, science and technology, migration and health, to the benefit of both peoples. Day after day, Mexico encourages political, economic and commercial contacts with Cuba, which are fostered by the agreements concluded by the two countries at the Third Meeting of the Standing Mexico-Cuba Information and Consultation Mechanism, held in March 2008, designed to enhance exchanges in the various areas covered by the bilateral relationship. Particular mention should be made of the commitments made at different meetings of the existing bilateral mechanisms held in 2008 — including those dealing with the areas of migration, drug trafficking, trade and industrial development, transport, agriculture and fisheries, foreign trade, tourism, health and cooperation for development — and of the formulation of an economic relations development programme including, among other components, trade missions, review of the implementation of the Bilateral Economic Complementarity Agreement, broad dissemination of the Bilateral Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments and reactivation of the Mexico-Cuba Intergovernmental Working Group for Economic

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and Industrial Collaboration, which is responsible for coordinating the bilateral economic agenda. In this context of collaboration, mention should be made of the conclusion in March 2008 of the agreement for the restructuring of Cuba’s debts to Mexico. This instrument, which conforms to the regulatory provisions in force in each country and is mutually satisfactory for both parties, helps to stimulate the development of economic and commercial relations for the benefit of both countries. As a sign of the desire for cooperation and understanding that exists between Mexico and Cuba, both Governments have continually revised this agreement in order to bring it into line for both countries. In addition, an analysis is being made of the phenomenon of migration between Mexico and Cuba, by which the two countries agreed to guarantee a legal, safe and orderly migration flow through the signature, in October 2008, of a relevant memorandum of understanding. In the light of the above, the Government of Mexico reiterates its firm commitment to contribute actively and decisively to the effectiveness of international law under this agenda item of the General Assembly.

Mongolia
[Original: English] [11 June 2009] In strict compliance with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law, which, inter alia, reaffirm freedom of trade and navigation, Mongolia has never promulgated or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Morocco
[Original: French] [2 June 2009] Morocco reiterates its firm attachment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and to the cardinal principles of international law. Morocco has always favoured the development of friendly relations between the States Members of the United Nations.

Mozambique
[Original: English] [29 May 2009] Mozambique has never promulgated, applied or contributed to the application of any laws or regulations mentioned in General Assembly resolution 63/7. Mozambique, which has excellent relations of friendship and cooperation with Cuba, is of the view that the trade, financial and even the scientific embargo against

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Cuba severely hampers the development of this friendly country. Mozambique therefore wishes to see the embargo lifted to enable the people and Government of Cuba to enjoy their sovereignty in accordance with the original principles and values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. In line with previous United Nations resolutions on this item, Mozambique believes that constructive dialogue is necessary to foster mutual trust and understanding, as well as harmony and peaceful coexistence among the nations of the world. It was in this context that Mozambique voted in favour of the aforementioned resolution, reiterates its unconditional support for the provisions thereto and appeals to the United Nations to ensure that all Member States take the resolution into consideration.

Myanmar
[Original: English] [13 July 2009] It is the consistent position of Myanmar that the promulgation and application by Member States of laws and regulations the extraterritorial effects of which affect the sovereignty of other States, the legitimate interest of entities or persons under their jurisdiction and the freedom of trade and navigation, violate both the spirit and letter of the Charter of the United Nations and the universally adopted principles of international law. Consistent with this position of principle, Myanmar opposes all forms of economic and financial sanctions and embargoes that contradict the norms of international law. Myanmar believes that the imposition of an economic, commercial and financial embargo by the United States on Cuba is not conducive to promoting peace and stability in the region. Instead, these measures, by their adverse affects on the economy of Cuba, cause undue suffering and hardship for the Cuban people and negatively impinge on third parties. Myanmar therefore strongly opposes the measures imposed by the United States. Accordingly, Myanmar has not promulgated any laws or regulations of the kind that are against freedom of trade and international navigation. In expressing its continued support for General Assembly resolution 63/7, Myanmar joins the call by the international community for the United States to bring to an end the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba.

Namibia
[Original: English] [8 May 2009] The Government of Namibia upholds the principle of the peaceful coexistence of nations, respects the sovereign equality of States and believes in fair and open trade among nations. Namibia remains concerned about the promulgation and application of all laws and measures constituting an economic, commercial or

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financial embargo against Cuba, especially the extraterritorial nature of such laws and measures. Bilateral relations between Namibia and Cuba continue to be excellent, and thus the Government remains committed to the necessity of an immediate end to all sanctions imposed by the United States against Cuba. We believe that the measures imposed against Cuba have serious negative implications for the overall development and well-being of the Cuban population. Namibia strongly supports General Assembly resolution 63/7 and calls upon all Member States, in conformity with their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations, to ensure an immediate and unconditional lifting of the embargo against Cuba.

Nauru
[Original: English] [12 June 2009] The Republic of Nauru reiterates its position that discriminatory trade practices and the extraterritorial application of domestic laws run counter to the need to promote dialogue and uphold the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. Furthermore, Nauru has not promulgated or applied laws or measures against Cuba that would prohibit economic, commercial or financial relations between Nauru and Cuba. The Government of Nauru is opposed to the continued adoption and application of such extraterritorial measures and, in this respect, supports the immediate lifting of the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

Nicaragua
[Original: Spanish] [3 June 2009] Nicaragua, in keeping with the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and international law, resolutely reaffirms its respect for the sovereign equality of States, the principle of non-intervention and non-interference in internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation, set out in various international instruments, as well as other principles indispensable to international peace and coexistence. On the basis of those principles, Nicaragua condemns and rejects the use of unilateral extraterritorial coercive measures, which are in violation of international norms and, in this case, violate the human rights of the Cuban people and create a situation of insecurity in conflict with international law. The brutal and arrogant economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba for almost 50 years not only goes against the principle of good-neighbourliness and the other purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and, in particular, the development of friendly relations between nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights, but also gravely affects the people of Cuba, causing them significant material losses and

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economic and, above all, psychological and social harm. The embargo is a measure that violates collective human rights, including the inalienable rights to selfdetermination and development. The extraterritorial nature of the embargo does not impact only on Cuba, but also on the sovereignty and legitimate interests of other States, their citizens and entities under their jurisdiction. The embargo also flagrantly violates the constitutional charters and statutes of global and regional financial organizations which, under pressure from the United States, exclude Cuba from membership. Similarly, the embargo has imposed obstacles and impediments to financial transactions originating in Cuba that are destined to pay that country’s membership dues to international organizations. Such obstacles include the refusal of United States and other banks to accept bank transfers from Cuba for the payment of its contributions to the United Nations. Such actions constitute a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, as well as non-compliance with the obligation that the United States has as host country not to interfere in any way with the work of the Organization. The United States embargo is inconsistent with the policy of cooperation and solidarity that exists between the countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region and, with no justification whatsoever, excludes Cuba from the Summit of the Americas mechanism and other inter-American forums. Nicaragua, together with the overwhelming majority of the international community, advocates the immediate termination of the economic embargo against Cuba and the territorial occupation of the Guantánamo military base. In that respect, it is appropriate to mention the document prepared by the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Latin America (ALBA) for the fifth Summit of the Americas on 17 April 2009, whereby the Heads of State and Government of Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, States members of ALBA, stated it as their opinion that the draft declaration of the fifth Summit of the Americas was insufficient and unacceptable because, inter alia, it excludes Cuba with no justification, making no mention of the general consensus that exists in the region, which condemns the embargo and the attempts at isolation to which the Cuban people and Government have been constantly and criminally subjected. The aforementioned ALBA document also reiterates the substance of the declaration that was adopted by all the Latin American and Caribbean countries on 16 December 2008 4 on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba, including the application of the so-called Helms-Burton Act, which, in one of its paragraphs of fundamental importance, states: “We call upon the Government of the United States of America to comply with the provisions of the 17 successive resolutions that have been adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and end the economic, commercial and financial embargo which it maintains against Cuba.”
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4

Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development, held in Costa do Sauípe, Bahia, Brazil, on 16 and 17 December 2008.

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“Furthermore, we consider that attempts have failed to impose isolation on Cuba, which today is an integral part of the Latin American and Caribbean region and a member of the Rio Group and other regional mechanisms and organizations that are developing a policy of cooperation and solidarity with the countries of the region, promote the full integration of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples and that there is therefore absolutely no reason to exclude it from the Summit of the Americas.” At the Summit of the Americas, President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, on behalf of ALBA countries, said in his statement of solidarity with Cuba “This summit, which I refuse to call ‘Summit of the Americas’ ... Yes, here we have most of the Presidents and Heads of Government of Latin America and the Caribbean; the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of Canada are taking part, but there are two notable absentees, one of which is Cuba. Cuba, whose crime has been to fight for independence and for the sovereignty of the people; Cuba, whose crime has been to show unconditional solidarity with our peoples. For that it has been penalized, for that it has been punished, for that it is excluded. That is why I cannot feel comfortable here in this Summit, I am unable to feel comfortable in this Summit! I am ashamed to be taking part in this Summit when Cuba is not here”. The fact should be underlined that all the Latin American and Caribbean States maintain diplomatic, economic and trade relations with Cuba, which constitutes one of the most basic changes in recent international policy, notwithstanding the pressure brought to bear by the Washington Government. In the American hemisphere, the only country that promotes the isolation of Cuba, namely, the United States of America, is the only one that itself remains isolated, without relations with Cuba. Nicaragua would like to report here that, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/7, no laws have been promulgated, nor do any measures exist in its internal juridical system that restrict or affect the economic, commercial and financial rights of Cuba. Equally, Nicaraguan legislation does not recognize the validity of the application of coercive measures that have an extraterritorial impact. Enterprises with headquarters in Nicaragua are subject only to our domestic law. We have been very pleased to witness the pressure being exerted within United States society, including by members of the United States Congress, who have submitted proposals to lift the embargo, because they consider that their interests are not served by this disgrace to humanity. We should like to acknowledge the importance attributed by the General Assembly to this question, and hope that it will intensify efforts in the future in order to guarantee that the unjust and criminal embargo is lifted, and that the United States military base on Cuban territory is closed, dismantled and withdrawn.

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Niger
[Original: French] [5 May 2009] The Government of the Niger is deeply committed to respecting the principles of the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention in internal affairs, and freedom of international trade and navigation, as established in the Charter of the United Nations and in international law, and has taken no measure that conflicts with General Assembly resolution 63/7. Since 1994, the year in which the General Agreement on Cooperation between the Niger and Cuba was signed, relations have become closer and widened in scope, as is demonstrated by the signing of further cooperation agreements and the holding of regular joint committee meetings. Accordingly, the Government of the Niger, remaining faithful to its ideals and to the rules of democracy, considers that each country and each people are legitimately entitled to define freely their own mode of development, with the same opportunities for success, in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. For all the above reasons, the Niger supports the sister Republic of Cuba in its campaign to secure the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against it.

Nigeria
[Original: English] [23 July 2009] The Federal Government of Nigeria maintains friendly relations with all States and does not favour unilateral punitive measures to settle political disputes. Consequently, the Federal Government reiterates Nigeria’s support for ending the embargo against Cuba.

Pakistan
[Original: English] [20 April 2009] Pakistan is fully in observance of resolution 63/7, adopted by the General Assembly on 29 October 2008.

Panama
[Original: Spanish] [19 June 2009] From the outset of diplomatic relations with the Government of Cuba, the Government of Panama has expressed its interest in and its commitment to maintaining and strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation in ways

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appropriate to their bilateral agendas and at the international level. Notwithstanding unilateral coercive measures, the two Governments have nurtured and improved their economic, commercial and financial relations. In this context, we would like to refer to the various visits to Cuba by the national authorities, both to participate in international events taking place in the fraternal country and against the background of bilateral relations. The most recent visit to Cuba, on 4 January 2009, was paid by Mr. Martin Torrijos Espino, in order to unveil the monument constructed by the Government of Cuba in honour of General Omar Torrijos Herrera. He also took the opportunity to visit the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, and important agreements were concluded with the aim of stimulating and strengthening scientific investigation in Panama through the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation. Panama was invited by the Government of Cuba to take part in the November 2008 International Fair of Cuba, where Panama had a pavilion. In January 2009, the commercial delegation of Panama paid a technical visit in order to negotiate a partial agreement. Panama and Cuba have concluded various inter-agency agreements on technical cooperation, which include the following: • Development of the “Get Ahead for Panama” (“Muévete por Panama”) literacy campaign implemented by the Ministry of Social Development of Panama, which uses the “Yes I can” (“Yo sí puedo”) method developed in Cuba. The campaign is making great progress: 42 million persons have learned to read and write within a period of 12 months, according to Ministry data. The same reports on the campaign indicate that the aim is to achieve 100 per cent literacy. • The Operation Miracle programme, under which Cuban doctors carry out free eye surgery for the poorest people in various parts of the country’s interior. To date, a total of 14,350 operations and laser treatments have been carried out, including on cataracts, pterygium (a condition affecting the conjunctiva and cornea), eyelid ptosis (a congenital malformation), strabismus, diabetic retinopathy, retinosis pigmentaria, glaucoma and other pathologies. • Development, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agricultural Development, of the Bilateral Programme for the Cultivation of Roots and Tubers, with the aim of producing a disease-resistant sweet potato variety that should make inroads into the European market. Cuba and Panama have, throughout their diplomatic relations, signed many agreements in a variety of fields, including combating drug trafficking, air transport, cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, cooperation in the fields of culture, education, and investment and protection of investments, political consultation mechanisms, discontinuance of visas in diplomatic passports, approval of university degrees, legal assistance in criminal matters, transfer of sentenced persons, and transfer of archives between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both countries. With regard to the bilateral commercial relationship between Panama and Cuba, it maintained a steady pace during the period from 2004 to 2008, with trade amounting to $734,750,400 of which 9 per cent represents Panamanian exports and

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91 per cent imports from Cuba, with an accumulated trade deficit of $595,384,96.00 million. On the other hand, trade exchanges through the Canal Free Zone, according to the data provided by that commercial entity, indicate that commercial movements destined for Cuba are on the increase. Similarly, companies that conduct commercial transactions with Cuba report that such transactions take place under normal conditions, with few significant difficulties, and that payment is made in the normal manner. At the international level, Panama supports the admission of Cuba to the Rio Group, in accordance with the decision made by the Heads of State and Government of that mechanism in December 2008 and, more recently, on 3 June 2009, supported an OAS resolution whereby OAS resolution VI, which was adopted on 31 January 1962, was revoked. That resolution had excluded Cuba from the inter-American system. At the United Nations, in other regional mechanisms and at presidential summits, Panama has demonstrated its rejection of the policy imposed against Cuba over the past 47 years, as regards lifting the economic, commercial and financial embargo. General Assembly votes on resolutions concerning the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba register the position of Panama on this matter. That position has also been made clear at various forums and in the declarations and resolutions that express the rejection at the international level of the measures imposed against the Cuban people, which conflict with international law, the free interchange and transparency of international trade, the sovereignty of States and non-intervention in internal affairs. Panama believes that the application of such laws and measures that conflict with international law as the Helms-Burton Act, constitutes an assault on access to medicines, food and the interchange of information and technology, including that which is necessary for the development and improved quality of life of peoples. Our country supports all the efforts that are being exerted to put an end to the embargo against Cuba, and believes it would be appropriate to continue the dialogue and consultations that aim to find the optimum solution for the Cuban people and the international community, based on the principles of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and other international instruments.

Papua New Guinea
[Original: English] [20 July 2009] Papua New Guinea reiterates its position that it has never promulgated or applied laws and measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7. The Government of Papua New Guinea has consistently voted in favour of General Assembly resolutions on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial

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and financial embargo imposed on Cuba. Papua New Guinea believes that the promulgation and application by Member States of laws and regulations with extraterritorial effects on the sovereignty of other States and legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction, as well as the freedom of trade and navigation, are not in conformity with obligations that Member States have assumed under the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

Paraguay
[Original: Spanish] [27 May 2009] In conformity with the principles established in the National Constitution and the Charter of the United Nations and the general principles of international law, the Government of the Republic of Paraguay considers that the extraterritorial application of domestic laws infringes on the sovereignty of other States, jeopardizes the juridical equality of States and compromises the principle of non-intervention, also affecting freedom of international trade and navigation. Paraguay fully complies with General Assembly resolution 63/7 and has not applied measures or laws of the kind indicated in that resolution.

Peru
[Original: Spanish] [21 April 2009] No law or measure of the kind referred to in resolution 63/7 exists or is applied in Peru. The Government of Peru is against unilateral and extraterritorial measures that seek to affect the internal political process of a particular State. Peru considers that, in accordance with the principles of international law concerning non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of States, due respect for the national constitutional order is of fundamental importance in international relations. The Government of Peru is guided in this matter by past pronouncements of the Permanent Mechanism for Consultation and Concerted Political Action (the Rio Group) and the statements issued at the Ibero-American Summit, among others. Finally, the Government of Peru wishes to renew its firm and unchanging commitment to the common objectives in the areas of representative democracy, the exercise of human rights and economic freedom.

Philippines
[Original: English] [5 June 2009] The Government of the Philippines fully supports and reiterates its commitment to adhere to General Assembly resolution 63/7 which calls for the

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ending of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba. The Government of the Philippines would also like to reiterate that it has not imposed and does not intend to impose any laws, regulations or measures that are contradictory to the implementation of resolution 63/7. The Philippines and Cuba have cultural and economic ties dating as far back as the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade in the early sixteenth century. Normal trade relations exist between the Philippines and Cuba, with total trade amounting to about $3.19 million in 2008. In 2009, the Government of the Philippines is scheduled to host the second meeting of the Philippines-Cuba Joint Commission on Consultations and Cooperation and the third meeting of the Philippines-Cuba Joint Commission on Scientific and Technical Cooperation. The expected outcome is a joint communiqué between the Philippines and Cuba outlining a list of cooperative endeavours for 2009-2011 covering the fields of science and technology, environment, biotechnology, trade, education, justice, sports, tourism, heritage restoration and culture. The Philippines is set to sign the following agreements with Cuba: (a) the News Cooperation Agreement between Prensa Latina of Cuba and the Philippine News Agency; (b) the Agreement to Combat Illicit Traffic of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances; and (c) the Maritime Transport Agreement.

Qatar
[Original: Arabic] [13 June 2009] Qatar does not promulgate or apply any laws or regulations that have effects beyond its geographical boundaries or affect the sovereignty of other States, the legitimate interests of entities or persons within the territorial boundaries of those entities or the freedom of international trade and navigation, nor has it adopted any other measures incompatible with General Assembly resolution 63/7. Qatar pursues a policy of strict compliance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and, in particular, the principles of the sovereign equality of States and non-interference in their internal affairs. The Government of Qatar rejects the use of economic measures as a means of achieving political goals. In its relations with other countries it abides by the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the rules of international law.

Russian Federation
[Original: Russian] [14 May 2009] The Russian Federation’s fundamental position with regard to the resolution in question is well known: we fully share the view of the overwhelming majority of member States of the international community, which firmly reject the United States embargo against Cuba, and we call for its withdrawal as soon as possible.

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We are convinced that ending the embargo against Cuba and normalizing United States-Cuban relations overall would help to improve the situation concerning Cuba and to facilitate its further reintegration into continent-wide structures. We believe that the imposition of the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba by the United States is counterproductive, anachronistic and not in keeping with current realities. We welcome the April decision of the Obama Administration to remove a number of restrictions on travel to Cuba by United States citizens who have relatives there, and on transfers of money and postal orders to Cubans from the United States. We trust that these steps will also be followed by other actions aimed at improving relations between the two countries and, ultimately, at fully lifting the long-outdated commercial and economic embargo against Cuba. Meanwhile, we believe that it is necessary to maintain our policy of supporting the draft resolution calling for the embargo to be lifted, guided by the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations concerning the inadmissibility of any discriminatory measures or interference in the internal affairs of States.

Rwanda
[Original: English] [14 June 2009] Rwanda reaffirms its commitment to the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and has neither promulgated nor applied laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Saint Kitts and Nevis
[Original: English] [5 June 2009] The Charter of the United Nations respects the sovereign equality of States and advances the principles of non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation, which are also enshrined in many international legal instruments. The Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis adheres to and supports these principles and reiterates its call to the Government of the United States to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. This unilateral act is counterproductive to the ideals set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, the terms of which promote cooperation among Member States, and not the measures imposed under the embargo. Saint Kitts and Nevis has not established or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7, in conformity with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law, which promote freedom of international trade and navigation. The Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis laments the fact that despite the united call by Governments, intergovernmental forums, the international community

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and public opinion, through declarations and resolutions, for an end to measures that contravene the Charter of the United Nations, the embargo on Cuba remains in effect, even though it has exacerbated the adverse economic and social conditions of the Cuban people. Saint Kitts and Nevis and Cuba continue to enjoy a peaceful and cooperative relationship conducted in a spirit of friendship and goodwill. In compliance with the Charter of the United Nations and subsequent resolutions, Saint Kitts and Nevis supports General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Saint Lucia
[Original: English] [7 June 2009] In compliance with international legal obligations, and in compliance with the commitment to the principles of the sovereign equality of States, the Government of Saint Lucia has not promulgated any law, legislation or measure, or taken any other action that would contravene the exercise of sovereignty by a Member State in its lawful national interests, or obstruct the freedom of commercial activity, trade or economic cooperation. The Government of Saint Lucia reiterates the consistent economic, educational, scientific and technical cooperation between Cuba and Saint Lucia in furtherance of socio-economic advancement and sustainability. Saint Lucia reiterates its position on the extraterritorial application of national legislation and considers it to be contrary to the principles of international law, the sovereign equality of States, non-interference in the internal affairs of States and peaceful coexistence among nations. The Government of Saint Lucia has consistently supported the relevant General Assembly resolutions calling for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
[Original: English] [1 July 2009] The Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines continues to oppose the extraterritorial application of national legislation that demonstrates disregard for the sovereignty of States. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines views such actions as contrary to international law and the principles of sovereign equality, peaceful coexistence and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States. The Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines does not apply unilateral economic measures as a means of political or economic coercion against other States. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has no laws that in any way restrict the freedom of trade, navigation, economic cooperation or other commercial activity with Cuba.

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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines enjoys very friendly relations with Cuba, and continues to engage in solidarity with the Government and people of Cuba through a variety of constructive, cooperative and mutually beneficial partnerships. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has consistently and unreservedly voted in favour of General Assembly resolutions on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines expresses its continued concern at the hardships and human suffering caused by the ongoing imposition of the embargo against Cuba, despite overwhelming international support for multiple resolutions that have called for an end to this blockade.

Samoa
[Original: English] [10 July 2009] The Government of Samoa, in accordance with the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and international law, affirms that it has not promulgated or applied any laws or measures that affect the sovereignty of other States.

San Marino
[Original: English] [7 July 2009] San Marino has always and generally been against any imposition of any embargo and it is therefore against the imposition of the unilateral embargo against Cuba as a means of pressure and because of the serious repercussions on the population.

Sao Tome and Principe
[Original: English] [15 April 2009] The only way for nations to promote friendship, trade and an environment conducive to development and security is to respect international law. Any unilateral embargo or extraterritorial laws against any nation will create hardship for its people and increase insecurity. Based on principles and provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and other relevant international laws that promote the freedom of trade and navigation and the free circulation of people, the Government of Sao Tome and Principe has not adopted, nor will it adopt any law that supports the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. To do otherwise would be to adopt a bad policy and to violate international law.

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Senegal
[Original: English] [12 May 2009] The Government of Senegal has neither promulgated nor applied laws and measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to resolution 63/7. Senegal attaches great importance to the full respect of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and its obligations under international law.

Seychelles
[Original: English] [12 May 2009] The Government of Seychelles fully endorses the content of resolution 63/7 adopted by the General Assembly on 29 October 2008; and subsequently has not applied, nor will it apply, any laws or measures that may, in any manner or form, constitute or contribute to the imposition of an economic, commercial or financial blockade against Cuba. Furthermore, the Government of Seychelles is of the view that the implementation of legislation containing measures or regulations having extraterritorial effects is inconsistent with generally recognized principles of international law.

Sierra Leone
[Original: English] [7 July 2009] Consistent with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law, Sierra Leone has neither promulgated nor applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7. Sierra Leone has consistently supported the resolution and is convinced that the removal of discriminatory trade practices and of the extraterritorial application of domestic laws would help to not only improve the socio-economic condition of the Cuban people, but also promote dialogue, good-neighbourliness and cooperation among States.

Solomon Islands
[Original: English] [28 April 2009] The Solomon Islands reaffirms its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and supports the freedom of trade.

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South Africa
[Original: English] [8 June 2009] South Africa has repeatedly joined the majority of countries in expressing its disagreement and opposition to all aspects of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba. South Africa views the continued imposition of this embargo as a flagrant violation of the principle of the sovereign equality of States, as well as of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of States. The vigour with which the international community reacted to this embargo, in condemning it by a recorded vote of 185 to 3 in 2008, is a clear indication that the time has come for it to be lifted, thereby ending the untold suffering it has inflicted on the Cuban civilian population, which is carrying the brunt of that injustice. The situation is further exacerbated by the global economic recession that has affected many countries, including Cuba. The international community recognizes Cuba’s outstanding work in the areas of health, education and biotechnology in Africa, the underdeveloped world in particular and the world in general. The embargo stifles this outstanding contribution to economic and social development and hinders the betterment of the lives of the poor. South Africa and Cuba have maintained long-standing relations that are continuing to expand through increased cooperation on a wide range of issues, including economic, commercial and financial matters. Cuba will host the seventh Annual Joint Consultative Mechanism Meeting between the two countries in June 2009 and the sixth session of the Joint Bilateral Commission in November 2009. Through these two cooperative mechanisms, the Governments of South Africa and Cuba are striving to expand their already sound relations in various areas. Cuba, through the bilateral cooperation projects undertaken in the context of the Commission, is greatly assisting South Africa in addressing its skills shortage problems through the provision of professional workers and trainers in myriad identified areas. In addition, several high-level delegations, led by ministers, deputy ministers and directors-general, have exchanged visits during the past year with the view to further strengthening bilateral relations. A high-level delegation led by Vice-President Esteban Lazo attended the inauguration of President Jacob Zuma on 9 May 2009. This year, South Africa and Cuba celebrated 15 years of diplomatic relations. Following the devastation caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September 2008, the South African Government contributed $2 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba to assist in the reconstruction programme. In the multilateral sphere, South Africa and Cuba continue to cooperate within the various organizations and share complementary views on many issues, such as the reform of the United Nations and the promotion of the agenda of the South. South Africa has given its full support to Cuba as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement and will continue to cooperate with Cuba in this and other international organizations.

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Sri Lanka
[Original: English] [28 April 2009] Sri Lanka does not approve of the use of unilateral economic measures against any country that are inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. Sri Lanka believes that the implementation of such measures obstructs the rule of law, the transparency of international trade and the freedom of trade and navigation. Sri Lanka has not promulgated any laws and measures referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Sudan
[Original: English] [6 May 2009] The Sudan fully supported General Assembly resolution 63/7, a very important resolution, and, in its statement before the General Assembly, called for an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba. The Government of the Sudan pursues a policy that respects the principles of the sovereign equality of States and non-interference in the internal affairs of others. Consistent with its principled stand, the Sudan opposes the imposition of sanctions on developing countries because of their devastating impact on the efforts of those countries to achieve sustainable development and because they constitute a violation of the Charter of the United Nations. In that regard, the delegation of the Sudan participates every year in the debate of the General Assembly on this agenda item and votes, along with the majority of Member States, in favour of General Assembly resolutions prohibiting the imposition of such unilateral measures and sanctions. The Government of the Sudan reaffirms that it does not promulgate or apply any laws or measures that could, by being applied outside its own national borders, affect the sovereignty of any State. The Government of the Sudan calls for the repeal of laws that impose such measures. On the basis of the foregoing, the Sudan opposes the economic and commercial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba, which has caused great damage and suffering to the Cuban people and violated their legitimate rights and interests. The embargo constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and its imposition shows disregard for the noble principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The Sudan itself continues to suffer from the unilateral economic sanctions imposed on it by the United States since November 1997. Such unilateral sanctions are in violation of the legitimate right of the Sudan and Cuba and all developing countries and their peoples to choose their own political, economic and social systems that fully meet their aspirations.

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Since the adoption of this General Assembly resolution, the Government of the Sudan has placed the issue at the forefront of the multilateral system to mobilize support for the elimination of all forms of unilateral coercive economic measures on developing countries. The Sudan is increasingly promoting its bilateral relations with Cuba. In this regard, the Sudan-Cuba Joint Ministerial Commission was convened on 30 May and 1 June 2007 in Havana; the Sudan’s delegation was headed by the Minister of International Cooperation, along with other high-ranking officials. The Joint Ministerial Commission is the mechanism created to promote cooperation between the two countries in all sectors. As a means of fostering bilateral ties and combating the negative effects of the embargo, the Joint Ministerial Commission is expected to enhance and consolidate relations between the Sudan and Cuba in all areas. Bilateral relations between the two countries progressed with the accreditation of the Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Sudan to the United Nations as Ambassador to Cuba in December 2007, and took another step forward with a visit exchanged by senior officials in both countries. The Sudan participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Havana from 27 to 30 April 2009 and, in its statement, called for an immediate end to the embargo against Cuba. In its bilateral meeting with Cuban officials, the Sudan reiterated its commitment to enhancing bilateral relations with Cuba in all areas.

Suriname
[Original: English] [7 July 2009] Suriname remains committed to the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and to upholding the principles of international law. In this regard, the unilateral enforcement of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and international law. Against the background of the extra burden caused by the current global economic and financial crisis, Suriname reiterates its call for ending this embargo.

Swaziland
[Original: English] [19 May 2009] Swaziland reiterates its concern over the unilaterally imposed and unabated economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. Such action is contrary to the principles of international law governing relations among States and to the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations. The embargo adversely affects the Cuban people in causing huge material losses and economic damage. In the same context, it further hampers efforts by the Government of Cuba to achieve the internationally agreed development goals,

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including the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating poverty and hunger and promoting health and education. Swaziland is of the view that sovereign equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States, and other norms and principles governing international relations should be respected by all countries at all times. Accordingly, Swaziland calls for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba and again endorses the positions of the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement in opposing this action.

Syrian Arab Republic
[Original: English] [2 June 2009] Proceeding from its position of principle with respect to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba, the Syrian Arab Republic voted in favour of General Assembly resolution 63/7, which emphasizes the need for compliance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and reaffirms the principles of the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation. In the resolution, the Assembly also calls upon States to take the necessary measures to put an end as soon as possible to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba for more than three decades. In this regard, the Syrian Arab Republic recalls the communiqué of the Heads of State and Government of Non-Aligned Countries at their conference, held in Havana on 15 and 16 September 2006, in which they called upon the United States to put an end to the embargo against Cuba, which, in addition to being unilateral and contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the principle of neighbourliness, is causing huge material losses and economic damage to the people of Cuba. The Heads of State and Government once again urged strict compliance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and expressed deep concern over the widening of the extraterritorial nature of the embargo against Cuba and over new legislative measures continually being adopted to intensify the blockade. The Syrian Arab Republic also refers to the Doha Declaration, adopted by the Second South Summit of the Group of 77 and China, in which participants categorically rejected laws and regulations with extraterritorial impact and all other forms of coercive economic measures, and expressed grave concern over the impact of economic sanctions on the development capacity of the targeted countries. The Summit also adopted a special appeal from all developing country leaders for the immediate lifting of the embargo, which has caused the Cuban people enormous material losses and inflicted huge economic damage, in addition to being a unilateral measure and in contravention of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the principle of good-neighbourliness. The international community has frequently stated that it rejects the continued sanctions unilaterally imposed on Cuba and the Helms-Burton Act, which exceeds the jurisdiction of national legislation and encroaches on the sovereignty of other

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States that deal with Cuba. The imposition of these sanctions is incompatible with the principle of the sovereign equality of States. Experience has shown that, for the most part, sanctions regimes have caused enormous material damage and major economic losses for the civilian inhabitants of the countries targeted. Accordingly, the Syrian Arab Republic calls for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba. This would help to create a positive climate in international relations and enhance international legitimacy in safeguarding the principle of the sovereign equality of States.

Tajikistan
[Original: English] [28 July 2009] Tajikistan is committed to the principles of international law and supports the fundamental rights of nations to freely choose their own ways of development. Taking into account, among other principles, the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade, Tajikistan does not approve of the use of unilateral economic measures against any country that are inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law and that will impede the free flow and transparency of international trade. Adhering to this principle, Tajikistan has not promulgated any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7. Tajikistan enjoys friendly diplomatic and economic relations with Cuba. Tajikistan will continue to undertake further measures to strengthen cooperation and develop friendly relations with Cuba.

Thailand
[Original: English] [29 May 2009] In principle, Thailand does not support the imposition by one country of its national law on another country, which in effect compels a third country to comply with that law. In Thailand’s view, such an act would be contrary to the basic principles of international law and to the Charter of the United Nations. Thailand has maintained no such legal provisions or domestic measures.

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Timor-Leste
[Original: English] [22 May 2009] The Government of Timor-Leste again calls upon the Government of the United States to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba which, in addition to being unilateral and contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and international law, is causing serious material losses and economic damage to the people of Cuba. It once again urges strict compliance with resolutions 47/19, 48/16, 51/17, 53/4, 54/21, 55/20, 57/11, 60/12, 62/3 and 63/7 of the United Nations General Assembly. Timor-Leste is, however, encouraged by the decision of United States President Barack Obama to lift the restriction on individual travel to Cuba and on remittances from the United States to Cuba. Timor-Leste believes that this historic policy shift will eventually lead to a complete lifting of the half-century-old embargo.

Togo
[Original: French] [9 July 2009] In keeping with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Togo has always strived to promote respect for the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States, and for non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs. In the same way, our country unreservedly supports the principle of free trade and navigation. Such principles are enshrined in numerous international legal instruments. Togo therefore systematically rejects the use of any unilateral coercive measures to exert pressure on States. For that reason, Togo has never promulgated or applied any laws or measures aimed at curtailing the sovereignty of other States, or the legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction. Like almost all Member States of the United Nations, Togo has consistently supported the actions of the Cuban Government aimed at ending the embargo imposed on Cuba by the United States of America.

Tonga
[Original: English] [8 July 2009] Tonga adheres fully to the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and accepted under international law, in particular the principles of the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation.

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Thus, Tonga has not promulgated or applied any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to resolution 63/7. Tonga maintains friendly and diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Trinidad and Tobago
[Original: English] [10 July 2009] The Government of Trinidad and Tobago does not apply unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against other countries.

Tunisia
[Original: French] [27 May 2009] With regard to the implementation of General Assembly resolution 63/7, Tunisia applies no unilateral laws or measures with extraterritorial effect.

Turkey
[Original: English] [1 June 2009] The Republic of Turkey does not have any laws or measures of the kind referred to in the preamble to General Assembly resolution 63/7 and reaffirms its adherence to the principles of freedom of trade and navigation in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

Turkmenistan
[Original: English] [27 July 2009] Turkmenistan supports the adoption of General Assembly resolution 63/7. Moreover, Turkmenistan’s national legislation contains no provisions on limitation of freedom of trade or navigation.

Uganda
[Original: English] [2 July 2009] Uganda has normal trading relations with Cuba and does not support the embargo.

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Ukraine
[Original: English] [3 June 2009] The Permanent Mission of Ukraine has the honour to inform that Ukraine does not have any legislation or regulations whose extraterritorial effects could affect the sovereignty of other States, the legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction or the freedom of trade and international navigation. Similarly, the Government of Ukraine does not accept the application of measures of the kind referred to in General Assembly resolution 63/7 and adheres, in its relations with other countries, to the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the norms of international law and the freedom of trade and navigation.

United Republic of Tanzania
[Original: English] [27 May 2009] The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania expresses once again its solidarity with like-minded Member States to denounce the application of unilateral trade measures against Cuba that have extraterritorial effects on the peoples and economies of other States. The United Republic of Tanzania perceives these unilateral measures as contrary to the spirit of multilateralism and in violation of the Charter of the United Nations. The United Republic of Tanzania enjoys healthy and sound relations with the people and Government of Cuba. The two nations cooperate in various social and economic endeavours, most notably in the area of capacity-building in health and education. The United Republic of Tanzania believes that cooperation between the two countries would flourish if the unilaterally imposed blockade were lifted and is confident that there is room for discussion between the two parties.

Uruguay
[Original: Spanish] [13 May 2009] Uruguay does not recognize in its legislation the extraterritorial application of domestic laws of other States. It also holds the view that, in addition to violating generally accepted principles of international law, this practice is a form of pressure that impedes, rather than promotes, dialogue. Uruguay maintains a foreign policy favourable to the freedom of trade and international navigation, in accordance with the relevant multilateral arrangements. In that context, Uruguay has repeatedly denounced the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba, and its effects on the Cuban people, as a result of unilateral coercive measures that affect free trade and the transparent practice of international commerce.

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Accordingly, Uruguay has neither promulgated nor applied any laws, decrees or measures of the kind referred to in General Assembly resolution 63/7.

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
[Original: Spanish] [1 June 2009] In accordance with the constitutional principles that underpin its actions in the community of nations, namely humanism, cooperation and solidarity among peoples, staunch in its commitment to peace, and guided by its unconditional respect for the norms and principles of international law, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela does not and will not apply unilateral measures with extraterritorial effects that violate the sovereign rights and political independence of other States, as well as the human rights of their people. The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates its categorical rejection of the application of unilateral measures with extraterritorial effects because, in its opinion, they violate the norms and principles of international law, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and other international legal instruments, and because they violate free trade and navigation and the norms of the international trading system. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has strongly supported the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly on this subject and the declarations made in other political forums, repudiating this type of hostile action, which undermines peaceful coexistence between nations and international legality. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela calls on the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, to end the merciless economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against the fraternal people of Cuba by the United States. Such a decision would demonstrate that country’s commitment to international legality and its unconditional respect for the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. The policy of confrontation promoted and implemented by the United States for more than 40 years has affected the well-being of the citizens of that Caribbean nation, whose human rights have been violated as a result of the illegal unilateral measures. The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela demands that the United States comply strictly with General Assembly resolutions 47/19, 48/16, 49/9, 50/10, 51/17, 52/10, 53/4, 54/21, 55/20, 56/9, 57/11, 58/7, 59/11, 60/12, 61/11, 62/3 and 63/7. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates its concern at the strengthening of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba by the United States, an action that in no way contributes to the necessary climate of dialogue and cooperation that should prevail in international relations among sovereign States in conformity with the spirit and purpose of the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States, adopted by the General Assembly on 24 October 1970.

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The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela endorses the repeated declarations made by, inter alia, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, the Rio Group and the European Union-Latin America and Caribbean summit in repudiation of the application of unilateral measures with extraterritorial effects, which it considers to be contrary to dialogue and cooperation as genuine expressions of multilateralism. In this context, the Venezuelan Government denounces the application of the extraterritorial provisions of the Helms-Burton Act. In this context, it should be pointed out that, at the Vth Extraordinary Summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, held in Cumaná, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on 16 and 17 April 2009, the Heads of State and Government of Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirmed their “categorical condemnation of the genocidal economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba by the United States and reiterated their demand for a unilateral and immediate end to the embargo”. As stated, the maintenance of these unilateral measures is contrary to the spirit of dialogue and cooperation that should prevail in international relations, since their application breaches the norms and principles of international law. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is convinced that the international community must not let up in its efforts to end the practice of applying unilateral coercive measures that seek to curtail the sovereign right of States to determine, in keeping with the right of self-determination, their own political and social model consistent with the actual situation in their respective country and the particular requirements of their people. Lastly, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela renews its firm commitment to unconditional respect for the norms and principles of international law and therefore appeals again to the Government of the United States of America to comply with the 17 resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and end the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

Viet Nam
[Original: English] [5 May 2009] The policies of blockade and embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba over the past several decades represent a violation of international law in general and free trade law in particular, and an infringement of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations, contravening the common desire of nations around the world to build sound and equal international relations, regardless of their respective political systems and with respect for each nation’s rights to choose its own path of development. The General Assembly has for many consecutive years adopted, by an overwhelming majority, resolutions demanding that the United States end its economic, trade and financial blockade and embargo policies and laws against Cuba, the most recent of which is resolution 63/7 of 2008, adopted with 185 votes in favour.

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It is the view of Viet Nam that the differences between the United States and Cuba should be solved through dialogue and negotiation, in a spirit of mutual respect for each other’s independence and sovereignty, and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. Viet Nam reaffirms its strong support for the related General Assembly resolutions and believes that the United Nations will soon produce concrete initiatives and measures to rapidly implement adopted resolutions in order to put an immediate end to the blockade and embargo against Cuba. Once again, Viet Nam confirms its friendship, cooperation and solidarity with the Cuban people and resolves to do its utmost with other peace-, freedom- and justice-loving peoples in the world to help the Cuban people overcome the consequences of the aforementioned immoral and illegal blockade and embargo policy.

Yemen
[Original: Arabic] [1 June 2009] The Republic of Yemen is one of the countries that rejects the embargo against Cuba. Accordingly, it is committed to the implementation of General Assembly resolution 63/7 and, in particular, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 thereof. It neither promulgates nor applies laws and measures of the kind referred to in the resolution.

Zambia
[Original: English] [9 June 2009] The Government of Zambia supports the need to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba.

Zimbabwe
[Original: English] [7 July 2009] Zimbabwe expresses its deep concern over the huge economic damages and untold sufferings inflicted against Cuba as a result of the illegal economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against it by the United States. The embargo runs counter to the fundamental principles of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the regulations of the World Trade Organization and relevant resolutions of the United Nations. Furthermore, the embargo is provocative, extremely discriminating in nature and has undermined the principles of sovereign equality of States, fundamental human rights and the spirit of peaceful coexistence and good neighbourliness among States. Zimbabwe reiterates its firm commitment to the fundamental principles of sovereign equality of States, non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of

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international trade. It condemns the application of unilateral economic measures by any country against another in order to achieve certain political objectives. The extension of territorial jurisdiction by the United States to other countries is contrary to the principle of national sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of States as recognized under international law. Zimbabwe therefore joins other countries in calling upon the United States to put an immediate end to its economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

III. Replies received from organs and agencies of the United Nations system
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
[Original: English] [10 June 2009] Economic background The period of steady improvement of the economic and social situation in Cuba during the present decade came to an end in 2008 and early 2009. The economy has been hit by a combination of external shocks such as high international petroleum and food prices in the first part of 2008, followed by an unusually destructive hurricane season. The former affected the Cuban economy adversely by increasing the petroleum and food bills, thus crowding out other imported goods, given the foreign currency restrictions Cuba faces. It is estimated that the increase in international prices of food resulted in an additional cost of close to $840 million in the form of imports. The impact of natural disasters was related to three hurricanes and one tropical storm, whose accumulated damage in 2008 has been estimated by the Government of Cuba at $9.7 billion, which is equivalent to almost 20 per cent of GDP. This has to be compared with the sum of all damages resulting from hurricanes in the period 2000-2007, estimated at $9.1 billion. One of the most visible consequences of the hurricanes was the destruction of the housing stock. Some 530,000 housing units were damaged and almost 90,000 destroyed. Given that the capacity of the Cuban economy to build housing units is around 50,000 per year, it will take almost two years to recover the pre-2008 level of housing. As a result of these two shocks, the economic growth in 2008 was a mere 4.3 per cent against the projected 8 per cent. The ongoing world economic crisis is also exerting a toll on the Cuban economy, resulting in an economic growth of GDP for 2009 of only 1 per cent. Effects of the United States embargo The embargo imposed by the Government of the United States on Cuba has been in place for almost five decades, adversely affecting the standard of living of Cuban citizens and the normal functioning of the Cuban economy. It has direct and

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indirect effects on all sectors of the economy. The United States has imposed this unilateral policy on other sovereign States with measures such as the Torricelli Law (1992) and the Helms-Burton Act (1996). According to estimates by the Cuban authorities, the accumulated direct damages of the embargo amount to more than $90 billion. During the Bush administration, additional sanctions and more severe retaliation and punishment against individuals, companies and sovereign nations were adopted, thus increasing the scope and intensity of the embargo. As a result of this policy, some sectors such as food production and public health are especially affected, with serious social consequences. Cuba is forced by the embargo to import medicine, medical equipment and health-enhancing products from faraway countries, raising shipping costs substantially. In addition to this and given the uncertainty introduced by the embargo, Cuba has to maintain large inventories, thus incurring additional costs. In the agriculture sector, the embargo has reduced the possibility and increased the costs of buying inputs like fertilizers and seeds, as well as technology and equipment that would increase productivity and reduce production costs. Given the strategic importance of food, the Government of Cuba has been obliged to keep additional stocks of food in order to provide an uninterrupted supply to the population in general. The Government of Cuba has invested heavily in an ample programme to update the transport sector, with visible effects in terms of improvement of transport services to the public and the economy in general. However, the embargo has impeded a faster modernization of that sector, and has made it more costly. The construction sector has also been a victim of the embargo. Cuban enterprises cannot import from the United States materials and equipment for construction of hospitals, schools, housing units and roads. Given the widespread destruction by the hurricanes in 2008, reconstruction in the housing sector will be much slower because of the embargo. There has been some, very limited, progress regarding the economic embargo with the Obama Administration assuming power at the beginning of 2009, but the vast majority of measures against Cuba are still being rigorously applied. Change has come in the loosening of restrictions on Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba and send family remittances, and in the widening of the range of goods that can be shipped to Cuba as donations. Some opening up of telecommunications services by United States businesses is also being proposed. New measures do not affect fines the United States Government imposes on individuals and businesses that violate the embargo by exporting to Cuba, importing from Cuba or organizing a trip to Cuba, or by some other form of dealing with Cuba and its citizens. Needless to say, this affects third parties, as a result of which Cuban businesses have a very limited choice of possible foreign partners. The persecution of Cuban commercial and financial transactions with third parties has continued, elevating the costs not only for Cuba, but also for citizens and companies from other nations.

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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
[Original: English] [5 June 2009] Overall situation: effects of the embargo on food security and on agriculture, fisheries and the food industry The main changes since the previous reporting period can be summarized as follows: (a) In 2008 several factors drastically affected food production and availability in the country. From 16 August to 9 November 2008, five hurricanes had a direct or indirect impact on the island and caused losses in production, livestock and other food-related sectors of an estimated $10 million. The effects of natural disasters were exacerbated by the increase in food prices, estimated at 25 per cent, and the increase in the price of oil of 7 per cent. These factors forced the Government of Cuba to increase its budget from $1,600 million to $1,900 million for the purchase of food products in 2008. Despite the additional funding provided by the Government, as well as the safety net measures put in place for the most vulnerable people, the combined impact of all the factors described above caused food production to decrease and created food shortages and food vulnerability, especially in the zones most affected by the natural disasters; (b) Rice production in 2008 is provisionally estimated at 436,000 tons, 10 per cent below the level of the previous year but above the drought-affected level of 2005. However, this volume is still well below the level achieved in 2002 and 2003 (around 700,000 tons). Production of maize decreased by 10 per cent from the previous season to 326,000 tons. Imported volumes of cereals have remained steady in recent years and in 2008/09 are expected to cover three quarters of the country’s consumption requirements; (c) The heavy bill for imported food in 2007 represented an increase in prices of up to 23.7 per cent above those paid in 2006. As a result, the purchase of the same amount of food as imported in 2006 represented, according to the Government, an additional cost of $286 million in 2007. The increase continued in 2008, as a result of further increases in food prices. The main effects of the embargo on agriculture, fisheries, livestock and the food industry should continue to be viewed from two different perspectives: (a) The problems brought about by the impossibility of taking full advantage of the export potential (for coffee, honey, tobacco, live lobsters and aquaculture products) to the nearest market (the United States). This has implied major losses, since it has been necessary to sell to markets located further away with the resulting higher marketing and distribution costs. Moreover, trade often leads to a transfer of expertise. Cubans are not benefiting from these transfers; (b) The increase in costs for inputs needed for agricultural, fisheries and livestock production (fuel, spare parts for agricultural machinery, animal feeds, phyto- and zoo-sanitary products, fertilizers, top technological products such as herbicides, low toxicity insecticides and other highly effective pesticides or veterinary pharmaceuticals, and disease diagnostic kits) which in many cases are only produced by United States firms. This directly increases production costs,

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resulting in decreased profitability and lower capacity to satisfy local demand. In general, if equipment were purchased from the United States this would decrease by at least 20 per cent the cost of equipment imports; (c) A particular case is the limitations on purchase of seeds, due to the restrictions faced by seed companies on doing business with Cuba. The Ministry of Agriculture alone imported, in 2007, 27,600 tons of potato seed, mainly from Canada (10,400 tons) and Europe (17,200 tons). A total of 6,730 tons of vegetable seeds was also imported from Europe, Japan and the Middle East, with important implications on freight costs. The Government estimates that if these seeds could be purchased in the United States, Cuba could save approximately $872 million, which could be used to purchase more seeds. The embargo has very negative implications for Cuba’s balance of trade and foreign exchange earnings, as well as for the country’s volume of production. The value of imported agricultural products increased from $808.6 million in 1999 to $1.1 billion in 2005. At the same time, exports registered a downward trend, declining from $785.5 million in 1999 to $492 million in 2005. Over the same period, the negative agricultural trade balance increased from $23.1 million in 1999 to $608 million in 2005. The import of food products for human consumption, particularly those destined to meet social programmes, is affected by the embargo, as restrictions limit their quantity and quality, thus having a direct effect on the food security of the vulnerable segments of the population. An additional problem resulting from the embargo concerns the possibility for Cuba to access external multilateral financing for development programmes in agriculture and rural development in general, and the related availability of resources for rehabilitating and modernizing agricultural equipment and infrastructure. The United States has postponed for six months starting in August a regulation that would suspend cases being brought against Cuba by citizens of the United States for properties nationalized on the island, which is contemplated in title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996 (Helms-Burton Act). Effects of the embargo on selected agricultural commodities Cereals Cereal production in the 2008-09 marketing year is estimated at 593,000 tons, about 10 per cent below the level of the previous year and 15.5 per cent below the average of the past five years. The reduction is essentially due to the damage to crops caused by the passage of powerful hurricanes Gustav and Ike in August and September 2008, especially in the Isla de la Juventud and the provinces of Pinar del Río, Holguín and Las Tunas. Planting of first season 2009 rice and sorghum crops has started in January, while planting of maize crop is expected to start soon, at the end of May with the arrival of seasonal rains. An increase in the area planted with cereals is expected in response to measures adopted by the Government towards the agricultural sector to reduce the food import bill. Cereal imports in the 2009-10 marketing year (July/June) are estimated at around 2.1 million tons, consisting of wheat (800,000 tons), maize (600,000 tons) and rice (690,000 tons). Although in the past Cuba sourced much of its grain requirements from the European Union, the easing of sanctions by the United States since 2001 has resulted in larger purchases from the United States from where, in the 2007-08 marketing season, Cuba sourced almost all of its maize imports and 56 per cent of its wheat imports. In the case of

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rice, the early payment condition introduced by the United States in 2005 was associated with an 11 per cent reduction of imports from United States. Although Cuba responded to the imposition by the United States of the cash payment clause by redirecting its rice purchases to Viet Nam, mainly through Government-toGovernment trade deals, United States exporters tend to think that the lifting of that requirement would pave the way for a resumption of massive rice exports to Cuba. This view is largely based on the transport advantage the United States has over Viet Nam in the Caribbean markets. However, it ignores the links that have been established between Viet Nam and Cuba. Thus, although rice trade between the United States and Cuba may receive a boost by the change in legislation, it may take some time for Cuba to rely to a large extent on United States rice supplies. Oilseeds Oilseed production in Cuba is not significant and, as a result, the country almost entirely depends on imports to supply its vegetable oil and meal needs. Commodities dominating imports are soybeans, soy oil and soy meal. Recently, Brazil started providing assistance to Cuba for the cultivation of adapted, highyielding varieties on the island. When the United States embargo came into effect, Argentina and Brazil became the main suppliers of soybeans and derived products. Both Canada and Mexico have, on occasions, shipped small volumes to Cuba. Countries and regions from which Cuba imported non-soybean oils and meals include Argentina, Mexico, the European Union, Canada and China. From 2002, imports of soybeans and derived products from the United States resumed, largely replacing purchases from other regions. However, the United States measure introduced in 2005 is considered to be keeping imports from that country below the level that could otherwise be achieved. Raw sugar Raw sugar production, as the main agricultural export and traditionally one of the main sources of foreign exchange, reached a record low of 1.2 million tons in 2007, owing to several factors, including adverse weather conditions that resulted in low yields and hampered work in the fields and reductions in the area planted and the production capacity of processing plants. The Government estimates that 182,000 tons of the 2007 crop could not be harvested owing to lack of financial resources, which caused a loss of $40 million. The 2008 harvest of sugar cane is virtually complete and tentative estimates point to a recovery in production to 1.5 million tons. These production levels, however, remain substantially lower than historical averages, particularly as output at 2.2 million tons was regarded as a 70-year low in 2004. A slight recovery in the sector between the previous and current marketing years signals a marginal reversal of the trend towards production declines over the past 15 years; however, the sector has continued to struggle since 2003 when a major restructuring of the milling sector closed 70 of 160 mills. Export volumes have fallen by more than 50 per cent since the sector was restructured: from 1.9 million tons to an estimated 850,000 tons in 2006. Nearly 25 per cent of the 700,000 tons of sugar consumed in Cuba is imported. The Governments of Cuba and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela signed a framework agreement in March 2007 to establish 11 ethanol plants in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that would import Cuban sugar. Plans are under way, with the financial support of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to

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rehabilitate the sugar sector in Cuba in order to initially supply at least four of the planned facilities. Poultry and eggs Exports of chicken meat from the United States to Cuba, benefiting from the granting of a poultry exemption in 2001 to the long running embargo, soared to record levels. Shipments from the United States to Cuba rose from nil in 2000 to nearly 75,000 tons by 2003, pushing Cuba to become the seventh largest export market for the United States for chicken meat. United States exports to Cuba are likely to continue to benefit from soaring demand for chicken, expanding to over 100,000 tons. Chicken consumption in Cuba should reach around 160,000 tons in 2008. Additional major suppliers to Cuba include Brazil and Canada. Cuba faces limitations in the development of an internal poultry industry. Restricted access to technologies available in the United States and other countries, as well as to raw materials for balanced feed rations, prevent the reduction of the import bill. The dependence of the poultry sector on imported feedstock has led to the adoption of preventive measures to avoid a collapse in protein supply should exports of feedstock from the United States be paralysed. The Government therefore keeps 3.8 million eggs under refrigeration to guarantee the supply of eggs to the population, at a cost of $5.6 million. The Government estimates that the direct cost of the embargo for the poultry industry is approximately $53.4 million, excluding the imports of inputs. Dairy products National milk production of 482,000 tons annually does not cover Cuba’s growing domestic demand for dairy products. Over 90 per cent of dairy imports is milk powder (60,000 tons yearly). Imports are destined mainly for the Government’s social programmes. With the easing of some restrictions on food imports from the United States in 2000 and 2001, there were occasional shipments of milk powder to Cuba. Following the early payment condition introduced by the United States in 2005, shipments have declined. In mid-2007, the Government instituted a 250 per cent increase in prices paid to domestic milk producers in order to stimulate domestic production and reduce the high bills spent for milk powder imports (about $300 million annually). The price increases will not signify higher retail prices for consumers, but the current price of cereals and its implication for the price of imported and locally produced feedstock will make milk and dairy products more expensive. Fish products Almost all of Cuba’s fish exports consist of high value products, notably frozen shrimp and lobster, which are in strong demand on the international market. The embargo prevents access to one of the most significant fish and fish-products markets, however, and as a result, Cuba is obliged to export to more distant markets, with the resultant higher marketing and distribution costs. In 2008 the world lobster market collapsed, leading to very low prices worldwide. This situation was even worse for Cuba, as the embargo forces the country to export to just one market, the European Union. Export earnings amounted to $87.0 million in 2007 for a total volume of 7,084 tons (product weight), while fish imports, consisting mainly of low-value fish products, amounted to $53.1 million for a total volume of 35,759 tons (product weight).

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Technical assistance to Cuba by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continues to support the Government of Cuba in promoting rural development and fisheries, with an emphasis on food security. During 2008, inter-agency activities focused strongly on identifying appropriate resources to support the country’s recovery in the aftermath of the natural disasters suffered that year. At the beginning of 2008, a project funded by the FAO technical cooperation programme was approved to provide emergency support for the recovery of production capacity and to reduce vulnerability of producers in the provinces of Las Tunas, Holguín, Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba and Granma, which had been affected by tropical storm Noel. In addition, as part of the inter-agency action plan developed by the United Nations country team, FAO approved two projects under the Central Emergency Revolving Fund for seeds, irrigation machinery and purchase of tools in areas affected by hurricanes Gustav and Ike, for a total amount of $900,000. A mission to evaluate and prepare a project for the recovery of Cuban agriculture was organized by FAO with financial support from the Spanish Agency for Cooperation and Development and in cooperation with Government technicians. The project has an approximate value of $6 million and is currently in its final preparation phase. In addition, the mission jointly identified priorities with opportunities for additional donors to support the recovery of the fisheries and agriculture sectors in the country. In addition to the emergency efforts, the field programme of FAO in Cuba is made up of 14 technical cooperation projects, mainly using resources from the Technical Cooperation Programme Facility and TeleFood projects. Through these projects, FAO continues to support the country mainly to optimize agriculture and agro-industrial processes to improve the functioning of the food value chain. Project operations in Cuba continued to be adversely affected by the economic embargo from increased costs for the purchase of materials and supplies and limited access to and availability of agricultural inputs, which have had a negative impact on the effectiveness of development resources.

International Atomic Energy Agency
[Original: English] [6 June 2009] Assistance activities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to all of its Member States, including Cuba, are governed by article III/C of its statute, which reads as follows: “in carrying out its functions, the Agency shall not make assistance to members subject to any political, economic, military or other conditions incompatible with the provisions of this Statute”. However, the existing embargo poses certain difficulties to the implementation of the Agency’s technical cooperation programme in Cuba, as it is not possible to procure some specialized equipment from United States companies, or, on occasion, to obtain visas for Cuban nationals to attend IAEA-organized training activities or meetings in the United States. In accordance with the above-mentioned article of its Statute, the Agency tries to overcome these difficulties, to the extent that it can, for example by

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purchasing equipment from other locations and sending Cuban nationals for training in other countries.

International Civil Aviation Organization
[Original: English] [9 June 2009] The mandate of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is to promote the safe, secure and orderly development of civil aviation in the world. The Organization is not directly involved in the implementation of resolution 63/7, which is directed at States. Cuba, a Contracting State of ICAO, benefits from assistance through the technical cooperation programme and the regular programme of ICAO, both at headquarters and at the ICAO North American, Central American and Caribbean Office in Mexico. In particular, the Organization has facilitated the participation of Cuba in all relevant regional technical cooperation projects and is assisting the country to improve its international civil aviation infrastructure through national technical cooperation projects. The cooperation of ICAO with Cuba has considerably expanded in the past decade. There have been a number of requests from the Government of Cuba and its Civil Aviation Authority for the assistance of ICAO in the implementation of technical cooperation projects in the areas of flight safety, airport safety, development of aeronautical infrastructure, strengthening of the civil aviation authority, human resources development, training programmes at the managerial and technical levels and modernization of technology. As a result of the embargo, numerous difficulties and constraints have been encountered in the management and implementation of ICAO technical cooperation projects in Cuba, in particular with regard to procurement of equipment, including software equipment, and spare parts that are made or have components made in the United States. It has proved very difficult, in particular, for the Cuban Civil Aviation Authority to obtain the required export licences from United States authorities for a number of items of equipment. The mobilization of financial resources for technical cooperation projects is constrained by the embargo, preventing potential negotiations with American financing institutions. With respect to training, it is almost impossible to have civil aviation training centres in the United States accept Cuban officials for training. Difficulties in obtaining entry visas to the United States have prevented Cuban civil aviation officials from participating in international conferences convened by ICAO in the United States.

International Labour Organization
[Original: English] [13 May 2009] As previously reported, Cuba is treated in the same way as any other member State of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and actively participates in the annual International Labour Conference and other ILO bodies.

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The ILO Office in Mexico continues its technical cooperation programme on issues of employment and decent work in Cuba. During the biennium 2008-2009, ILO is providing technical assistance in three substantive areas: (a) Promotion of productivity, income generation and decent work in strategic sectors, through human resources development based on labour competencies; (b) Consolidation of national social security programmes and policies, with special emphasis on the reduction of work-related accidents and diseases in highrisk sectors (construction, agriculture, electricity) through effective prevention systems; (c) Strengthening tripartism and social dialogue, specifically for effective monitoring of fundamental principles and rights at work. During a recent mission to Cuba, in March 2009, ILO renewed its commitment to support the Ministry of Labour for the implementation of the key activities described below: (a) Productivity, income generation and decent work • Training programme based on the ILO manual on introduction to labour studies • Developing implementation guides on competency-based training for the sugar industry, with the Ministry of Labour and the Sugar Ministry • Industry-wide systematization and dissemination of best practices • Review of related remuneration strategies • Construction of a network of institutions and enterprises applying the “PROMES” methodology (“productivity progress measurement system”) • Technical assistance for the adaptation of labour market statistics to ILO standards (b) National safework system • Training of labour inspectors and enterprise experts in safety and health issues • Training of workers’ organizations that collaborate with labour inspection (c) Tripartism and social dialogue for decent work • Technical assistance on ILO Convention No. 144 on tripartism and the ratification process • Strengthening of workers’ organizations (training on ILO mandate, functions and operations of supervising bodies, fundamental principles and rights) ILO reiterates its view that the United Nations is the appropriate forum to address questions related to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

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International Maritime Organization
[Original: English] [8 July 2009] As a State member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Cuba benefits from participation in the meetings of IMO bodies, and is a recipient of an IMO technical cooperation programme (IMO regional programme on support to maritime development in Latin America). IMO maintains collaborative relations with all Caribbean States, including Cuba. Since the early 1980s, IMO has collaborated closely with the Operative Network for Regional Cooperation among Maritime Authorities of the Americas, which comprises South America, Cuba, Mexico and Panama. IMO assistance to Latin America is guided by the maritime strategies of the region, which are revised every five years, and IMO will continue to focus on supporting their implementation. Countries of the Operative Network have addressed issues such as safety standards, training and protection of the marine environment through regional strategies, with numerous training activities organized in cooperation with IMO. In this context, and in pursuance of the decentralization policies adopted by IMO, most of IMO’s support is channelled through the Network by virtue of a memorandum of understanding signed with the ROCRAM secretariat. Through this instrument, the Network is assigned responsibility for the management and execution of regional technical cooperation activities identified as priorities by the respective countries, including Cuba, in building capacities for the effective implementation and enforcement of IMO global maritime standards. IMO has not encountered difficulties in delivering these projects as a result of the embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba.

International Telecommunication Union
[Original: English] [26 May 2009] The concerns of Cuba with respect to interference with its communications continued to receive full consideration by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Two active cases of complaints of harmful interference submitted by Cuba involving transmissions from radio stations based onboard an aircraft under the administration of the United States, are under consideration by ITU Radio Regulations Board. Both cases were also considered by the World Radiocommunication Conference held in Geneva from 22 October to 16 November 2007. The Conference noted that, in spite of repeated requests from the ITU secretariat to the concerned administrations to take the necessary actions to eliminate harmful interference, there was no information reported on any improvement in the situation. The Conference urged the concerned administrations to fulfil their obligations under the provisions of the Radio Regulations, but nonetheless expressed the view that a broadcasting station operating on board an aircraft and transmitting solely to the territory of another administration without its agreement and could not be considered as being in conformity with the Radio Regulations.

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After the Conference in 2007, and in the light of the regular reports from Cuba (received on a weekly basis) of the continuing character of the harmful interference on two frequencies, the Radio Regulations Board has continued to encourage the administrations of the United States and Cuba to cooperate and find a solution. The main challenge is to find technical solutions in accordance with the provisions of the ITU Radio Regulations without the use of technologies that are restricted from being exported to Cuba. The matter is continuously placed on the agenda of the Radio Regulations Board and will be considered again at its fifty-first meeting, to be held in July 2009.

Office of the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations system for operational activities for development, Cuba
[Original: English] [26 June 2009] The United Nations country team in Cuba has prepared annual reports on the effects of the embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba. The embargo directly affects the human development context in Cuba. Humanitarian and development cooperation implemented by the United Nations system in Cuba is also significantly affected. In that regard, no substantial improvements were seen in 2008. The negative impact of the embargo was intensified during the 2008 hurricane season. Cuba was affected by five extreme meteorological events, three hurricanes and two tropical storms. The damage and consequences of the events had a huge impact on the living conditions of the affected population. Losses amounted to $10 billion, almost 20 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The most significant cross-cutting issues that have a negative impact on the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies in Cuba are presented below. Purchase of inputs at non-competitive prices and limitations on imports of goods, services and technologies patented in the United States Although the United States is the closest, most competitive and most diversified market, Cuban national companies and foreign companies established in Cuba are not allowed to purchase products, components or technologies in the United States territory or from American companies. As such, the United Nations system in Cuba cannot access these suppliers as part of the development and humanitarian assistance provided to Cuba. Alternative adequate markets are distant, resulting in higher importation costs and delays in delivery time. Goods, services and technologies produced by the United States or covered by United States patents or containing any element produced or patented by the United States, are not available to the United Nations system in Cuba. This is true of development inputs such as medicines, medical equipment, fertilizers, food supplements, laboratory equipment, agricultural implements, computers, office supplies, vehicles, tools, construction materials, electric generators and other basic equipment. Humanitarian assistance is directly limited by these restrictions, even if the humanitarian products, such as medicines, medical equipment and food, are purchased through multilateral cooperation.

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Restrictions on the acquisition of licences for United States-patented computer software needed for the effective execution of programmes and operations further limits the work of the United Nations system. Global corporate contracts issued by the United Nations system to United States companies cannot benefit United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in Cuba; therefore it is necessary to identify providers exclusively for these offices, with higher prices and administrative costs. Travel by United Nations staff to United Nations Headquarters in the United States When United Nations staff are required to travel to United Nations Headquarters in New York, visas are not always granted on time. Consequently, missions have to be cancelled or rescheduled and tickets rebooked at higher cost. Cuban national staff are mainly affected, but so too are internationally recruited staff. It impedes the participation of United Nations system staff in corporate training and official meetings. This equally applies to United Nations staff who must transit through the United States on travel to third countries. Exchange of expertise Cuban experts from Government, academia and civil society invited to United Nations-hosted events also experience problems in obtaining timely visas. In addition, the United States Government limits American scientists and technicians from travelling to Cuba on exchange missions and United States philanthropic foundations must obtain licences to provide cooperation to Cuba. Consequently, it is difficult to establish partnerships and collaboration with United States non-governmental organizations and to promote exchanges among experts from the two countries. Financial services from United States banks United Nations local offices in Cuba cannot make use of corporate accounts with United States banks. Therefore, these offices are forced to use additional administrative measures to undertake programme finance operations, resulting in higher costs to the office and a higher administrative burden entailed by use of third-country banks. In addition, national staff members who hold private saving accounts in the United Nations Federal Credit Union in New York had their private savings account frozen as the result of the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control restrictions on Cuban nationals having transactions with United Statesbased financial institutions. International staff serving in Cuba also have limitations on access to their personal assets held in United States banks.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
[Original: English] [4 May 2009] Cuba is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. As such, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) receives and decides asylum claims under its mandate and contributes to providing assistance to the refugee population. Thus far,

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Cuba has maintained its de facto policy of non-refoulement and of protection and assistance in the education and health sectors to refugees recognized under the mandate of UNHCR, but does not offer local integration possibilities for them. Therefore, and in the absence of prospects for voluntary return in most of the cases, the only durable solution for refugees in Cuba is resettlement sought by UNHCR in third countries. It is anticipated that Cuba’s readiness to become a party to the international refugee instruments and to engage in finding solutions to the refugee situation within the country are dependent on a change in its bilateral relations with the United States. In this sense, any measure contributing to ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba is seen as a positive step that may lead towards Cuba’s accession.

United Nations Children’s Fund
[Original: English] [4 June 2009] The economic and financial embargo continues to have negative effects on the situation and fundamental rights of children, adolescents, women and families. Commercial limitations hamper the ability of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to purchase provisions and supplies needed for cooperation projects. The embargo also decreases the ability to import nutritional products destined for children, women and general consumption (in schools, health facilities and day-care centres), which directly affects the health and nutritional status of the population. The combined effect of the embargo and the current global financial crisis affecting availability and prices of basic foods for children and families has further aggravated the situation and the consequences on children. Education is also negatively affected by the embargo, as basic needs for educational material and supplies remain unmet, directly affecting the quality of education. Impact on the country programme of cooperation Commercial limitations increase the price of every item UNICEF needs to purchase as part of its projects and undermine the cooperation activities of all United Nations agencies, as many necessary products must be bought outside the country at higher cost. UNICEF has therefore has not been able to purchase all the provisions planned within the framework of cooperation for projects to assist approximately 2.7 million children under 18 years of age (representing 24.6 per cent of the total population), women and families. Operations in the UNICEF Office in Cuba are also affected because of its limited information technology connectivity for basic information services, with only one link to the outside world through an Internet Service Provider and no connection to the SITA Network. The low-speed connection of 128 Kb/s seriously curtails the use of services requiring a large bandwidth (videoconferences, audio, WebEx sessions and other services). The potential provider of a satellite alternative

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refused to sell the technology once they found out it was destined for the Cuba Office. Impact on children’s rights Health Children being treated at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiology have also felt the negative impact of the embargo as the scarcity of medication, equipment and other items has increased. Oncopediatric services lack extension prostheses for carcinoma-affected bones in children and adolescents suffering from osteosarcoma, since these products are provided by commercial companies from the United States. About 75 per cent of laboratory reagents needed to diagnose genetic diseases are produced in the United States, some of them exclusively. One of these substances is Amniomax, used for prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal anomalies such as Down’s syndrome. The National Center of Medical Genetics was unable to continue purchasing chromatography paper and Whatman blotting paper used to diagnose metabolic diseases in newborn children. Since 2007, attempts to purchase a special electronic microscope have been unsuccessful. The equipment is needed to diagnose at least 45 prenatal and postnatal skin genetic diseases and other neuro-degenerative diseases. Food and nutrition As the embargo restricts food imports, scarcity of iron-rich and fortified foods continues to cause iron-deficiency anaemia in the population, in particular in children under three years of age, as well as in fertile-aged and pregnant women, despite the contribution of UNICEF to national health strategies to prevent and control iron-deficiency anaemia in children under three. The impact of the embargo has increased following the three hurricanes and two tropical storms that struck Cuba back-to-back in the second half of 2008, causing enormous damage and threatening food security by destroying over 50 per cent of crops. Children with special needs Commercial barriers make it very difficult to purchase equipment necessary for children with special needs, including those in need of physical rehabilitation. Existing specialized equipment for sound amplification has deteriorated with use and replacement is not possible since it was were produced in the United States. Education The availability of text books and educational material is far from meeting the needs of all schools nationwide. In addition, there is a significant lack of school supplies such as pencils, notebooks and paper. School facilities have also deteriorated because of limitations in importing construction materials. Access to improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities About 11 per cent of families in rural areas do not have access to decent drinking water sources, while 10 per cent do not have access to decent sanitation

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facilities. In some cases, well-drilling machines are left unused because it is nearly impossible to purchase spare parts manufactured in the United States.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
[Original: English] [10 July 2009] The Accra Accord adopted at the twelfth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in April 2008 urges States to refrain from applying any unilateral economic, financial or trade measure not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations. It also stresses that meaningful trade liberalization requires addressing unilateral measures where they may act as non-tariff trade barriers and that international efforts should be made to reduce or eliminate such measures. The embargo measures applied by the United States against Cuba are the type of measure referred to in the Accra Accord and they have had substantial costs for Cuba. Trends in Cuba The embargo has resulted in higher costs for economic transactions and limited access to state-of-the-art technology, medicine and science, with a considerable negative impact on the Cuban economy and the standard of living of Cuban citizens. The Government of Cuba has reported that overall direct economic losses caused by the embargo exceeded $93 billion at the end of 2007 and that additional expenses incurred in external trade operations amounted to over $2.7 billion at year end. 5 It is estimated that from 2007 to early 2008, the embargo measures generated additional costs of $200 million for the production of food for domestic consumption and the public health sector. 6 For the period from April 2008 to March 2009, losses from foreign exchange earnings and extra costs incurred in trade finance due to the embargo totalled $242 million, up 13 per cent from the previous period. 7 E-commerce and sales of software foregone owing to the embargo were estimated at $30 million for the same period. Import costs for consumer products, including health- and education-related goods, were an estimated 30 per cent higher than they would have been without the embargo. In 2007, the GDP of Cuba increased by 7.3 per cent over the previous year, but this was considerably less than the 2006 growth rate of 12.5 per cent. 8 In the same year, the country’s exports of goods rose by $7 billion over 2006, while the deficit from its imports of goods held steady — at about $8 billion — over both years. Cuba’s trade pattern did not change from previous years. The main export items were “ores and metals”, accounting for 58 per cent, and the European Union was the largest market for Cuban goods, followed by the Latin America and Caribbean region. For imports, “manufactured goods” held the largest share, followed by
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6 7 8

World Trade Organization, “Cuba-article XV: 6 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994: report by the Government of Cuba under the decision of 15 December 2006” (WT/L/742), 8 December 2008, pp. 1 and 3. Ibid., p. 3. Information for the period of April 2008 to March 2009 provided by the Government of Cuba. The Economist Intelligence Unit, “Country report: Cuba”, April 2009, annual data and forecast, p. 15; and World Trade Organization document WT/L/742, p. 2.

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“fuels”, accounting for 51 per cent and 32 per cent of imports, respectively. The Latin America and Caribbean region was the largest source of imports, accounting for 44 per cent. Since the introduction of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 in the United States, that country has become the largest exporter of agricultural products to Cuba, accounting for 36 per cent of Cuba’s total agricultural imports in 2007. These exports are subject to some restrictions and it has been estimated that they would rise by $92 million to $195 million if the restrictions were lifted. 9 For services trade, Cuba’s exports increased by $1.5 billion from 2006 to 2007, raising the services trade surplus by $1.3 billion. Exports of health services grew rapidly from 2004 to 2007. Bilateral agreements with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to send health service professionals to that country and other countries in the region are estimated to have increased Cuba’s earnings from non-tourism services by $3 billion, exceeding earnings from tourism. 10 For foreign direct investment (FDI), UNCTAD estimates that FDI inflows in 2007 were $17 million, down by $9 million from the previous year. 11 UNCTAD estimates Cuba’s trade in goods in 2008 at $3.8 billion in exports and $15 billion in imports, representing a deficit of $10.7 billion, $4.4 billion more than the previous year. This increase was caused mainly by the deterioration of terms of trade due to the collapse of the international price of nickel and higher prices of food and fuel. 12 UNCTAD estimates trade in services at $9.2 billion in exports and $1.5 billion in imports, which represents a $7.7 billion surplus, $1 billion more than in 2007. As for the 2008 GDP growth rate, the Government of Cuba has lowered its earlier estimate by half, to 4.3 per cent, and attributes this downward revision to such factors as the sharp deterioration in terms of trade resulting from higher than anticipated average prices for oil and food imports; a collapse in nickel export prices; three major hurricanes in August, September and October 2008; and the effects of the global economic crisis, particularly on tourism and external financing. 13 While Cuba’s economic performance for 2007 and 2008 was favourable, particularly for 2007, the outlook for 2009 is not optimistic, as the country begins to feel the effects of the global economic crisis. 14 Negative factors identified for the economic downturn include low nickel prices; the impact of the crisis on tourism; the possibility that the capacity of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to import Cuban services will diminish as a result of low oil prices; a growing fiscal deficit; tightening credit conditions; a decline in infrastructure investments; limited access to international finance; and the possibility of weakening South-South economic cooperation. Developments in the United States The 111th Congress and the new Administration took office in January 2009. On 13 April 2009, the United States President announced some changes in
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restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba by Cuban-Americans and on United States telecommunications services. These changes included: lifting all restrictions on family visits and remittances to family members in Cuba and authorizing United States telecommunications network and service providers to enter into agreements to establish fibre-optic cable and satellite telecommunications facilities linking the two countries and roaming service agreements with Cuba’s telecommunications service providers; permitting United States satellite radio and satellite television service providers to serve customers in Cuba; authorizing persons subject to United States jurisdiction to pay for these services; permitting the donation of certain consumer telecommunication devices without a licence; and adding certain humanitarian items to the list of items eligible for export through licensing exceptions. This relaxation of the embargo measures is expected to bring notable benefits to the Cuban economy. The number of Cuban-American visitors is projected quickly to surpass its pre-2004 level of around 10,000 per month, 15 which could keep tourism earnings steady in 2009-2010, despite a contraction in earnings from non-United States visitors. Removal of restrictions on family remittances would result in cash inflows of over $660 million, up by one third from 2008. 16 In addition, lifting travel and remittance restrictions would help small family businesses and help ease the serious liquidity crisis faced by Cuba as a result of the global economic crisis and the 2008 hurricanes. 17 Lifting the restrictions on United States telecommunications service and network providers would result in a new earnings stream for the Cuban Stateowned telecommunications company, which could quickly exceed $20 million a year. This could help accelerate investment in the telecommunications infrastructure. The United States Administration, however, continues to hold the position that it should maintain the embargo as a source of leverage to bring about change in Cuba and that the degree of its engagement with Cuba would be conditional on changes in the Cuban political system. In the meantime, the United States Congress has adopted a number of legislative initiatives to ease or eliminate the embargo. Conclusions The United States embargo continued to have a severe impact on production, trade and welfare in Cuba and has impeded Cuba’s efforts to integrate itself into the world trading system. The low international price of nickel, the three major hurricanes and the global economic crisis have compounded the hardships of the Cuban people. The relaxation measures taken by the United States Administration are positive signs and are expected to bring significant benefits to the Cuban economy and daily life. They will also help to mitigate the impact of the global economic crisis on Cuba. However, the embargo measures remain largely unchanged and impose severe economic, commercial and financial restrictions on Cuba, with attendant costs both for Cuba and for citizens in third countries due to the extraterritorial application of the embargo. The United States is also affected by the embargo because of its inability to interact with Cuba in the economic, academic and social fields. Furthermore, the impact of the global crisis on Cuba is deepening, and while the relaxation of some embargo measures will help to ease this impact,
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16 17

In 2004 the maximum frequency of family visits was reduced from once a year to once every three years, and the definition of “family” was narrowed to “immediate family”. The Economist Intelligence Unit, “Country report: Cuba”, May 2009, pp. 11 and 12. Financial Times, “Cubans prepare for a bonanza”, 17 April 2009.

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the embargo will aggravate the hardships. Details of exports and imports of merchandise by Cuba in the period 2004-2008 are given in table 1. Details of Cuba’s services exports and imports for the period 2005-2008 are given in table 2. Table 1 Merchandise exports and imports by Cuba, 2004-2008
(Millions of United States dollars) Partner Commodity group 2004 2005 2006 2007 a 2008 b

Source: UNCTAD secretariat calculations, based on the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database and the International Monetary Fund Direction of Trade Statistics database. Notes: All food items (United Nations Statistics Division Standard International Trade Classification, codes 0+1+22+4) Ores and metal (Standard International Trade Classification, codes 27+28+68) Fuels (Standard International Trade Classification, code 3) Manufactured goods (Standard International Trade Classification, codes 5-8, less codes 67 and 68). a Estimates. b For 2008, only the estimated figure for the total exports to the world is available.

Source: UNCTAD secretariat, based on balance of payments data. a Estimates.

United Nations Development Programme
[Original: English] [26 May 2009] The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office in Cuba has been preparing annual reports on the effects of the embargo since 1992. During 2008, the situation remained very similar to previous years. The impact of the embargo can be observed in all spheres of the country’s social and economic activities, affecting opportunities for national and local development and creating economic hardship. The embargo also affects the population’s most vulnerable groups and human development in general. The embargo has limited Cuba’s access to development credits granted by international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. This has limited the possibility of obtaining resources to financially support Cuba’s national and local development plans. It has been very difficult to establish partnerships and to collaborate with non-governmental organizations, universities and research institutes in the United States, and to promote exchanges among experts from the two countries. The embargo has limited the efforts of United States-based non-governmental organizations and private foundations to undertake development activities in Cuba and as a result has also limited possible partnerships between UNDP and United States-based civil society groups. Geographically, the United States market represents the closest, most convenient and most diversified trade area. However, Cuban companies are still unable to purchase products, components or technologies in United States territory or from United States companies. As a result, Cuba is forced to purchase and import products from more distant places at a much higher cost. The embargo has caused negative consequences for external cooperation initiatives, generating many difficulties for programme and project implementation owing to trade restrictions or prohibitions on purchasing inputs from United States companies and their subsidiaries. This situation has a negative impact on the final cost of imported inputs for projects by increasing transaction and transportation costs, which on average increases the cost of projects by 15 per cent. This has had a direct impact on UNDP’s development coordination activities. A clear example of the above situation continues to be the projects financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, for which UNDP serves

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as the principal recipient or project manager on behalf of Cuba. Following established purchasing and quality procedures, the project requested competitive offers of medicines for patients with HIV/AIDS in order to ensure that 100 per cent of people living with HIV/AIDS received the required antiretroviral treatment. Since buying antiretroviral products from United States laboratories, either directly or from their subsidiaries in other countries, is not possible, the medicines have to be purchased from third countries, and from secondary suppliers at prices significantly higher than those on the international market. In fact, although the prices of medicines and reagents as shown on the public price lists have decreased, Cuba does not benefit from this price difference even though the finances are fully administered by UNDP. In 2008, the purchase of the antiretroviral drugs Lopinavir 133 mg, Ritonavir 33 mg and Nelfinavir 250 mg could not be supplied by the first choice producers under the Global Fund Quality Guarantee Policy due to the embargo restriction on exporting to Cuba. Contracting with an alternative supplier with inferior quality products had to be undertaken, with the exceptional authorization of the Global Fund, and resulted in a much lengthier process involving additional testing at the donor’s request. Another example of the impact of the embargo has been the impossibility to purchase and supply antiretroviral drugs for paediatric purposes, since Ritonavir 80 mg/ml (oral solution), Lopinavir 80 mg/Ritonavir 20 mg (Kaletra) (oral solution) and Nelfinavir 50 mg/g (oral powder) are only produced by American companies. The long-term agreements that UNDP has signed with specific United States firms cannot be utilized for these purchases due to embargo restrictions. In the previous report of the Secretary-General (A/63/93), the difficulties regarding the acquisition of equipment to measure viral load and flow cytometers to determine CD4 cell count were mentioned. The contract initially signed with a Spanish firm was cancelled because the equipment offered was manufactured by a United States company. The next firm awarded also offered United States equipment, and was unsuccessful since it did not get an export licence. This situation created a delay of several months in project execution and eventually required that the equipment be purchased from yet another firm. Since December 2006, the UNDP Cuba Office has not been able to make use of the corporate long-term agreements signed between UNDP and Dell and has had to purchase computer equipment from other suppliers, involving higher prices and a great number of procedural steps, despite actions taken by the UNDP Purchasing Unit. A similar situation prevails with access to software licences. Corporately endorsed computer software cannot always be used by UNDP in Cuba, given the lack of software licences for Cuba-based operations. The UNDP Office faces difficulties in acquiring software licences needed to conduct programme and operational activities efficiently. During 2008 the situation remained quite similar and it also affects the 2009 purchasing plan. The result is higher administrative costs for the Office. Due to restrictions on financial services from United States banks to Cuba, UNDP operations must use additional administrative measures to undertake programme finance operations and channel donor contributions, which results in higher costs to the Office and a higher administrative burden.

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In 2008, Cuba was strongly affected by three intense hurricanes and two tropical storms, which caused significant damage to the economy, social facilities and housing. UNDP, as part of the coordinated United Nations system humanitarian response, assisted with the recovery process to support the domestic population. The embargo resulted in slower purchasing processes in the emergency response situation due to the need to find non-United States suppliers for roofing, tools and reconstruction materials, which also took more time to import as they had to travel from more distant markets. The embargo has also affected Cuban officials working to support the United Nations system objectives, as well as the United Nations itself. United States visas for UNDP national and international staff in Havana on travel to UNDP headquarters in New York must be requested more than a month in advance. Despite compliance with United States requirements, the visas are not always granted in time. Thus Cuba-based UNDP staff are frequently prevented from participating in official training workshops and official meetings, and both UNDP headquarters and the Cuba Office are deprived of acquiring and sharing valuable experience. This situation also applies to Cuban official delegates to UNDP-sponsored workshops in the United States, including Government, non-governmental organization, university and other development actors. Higher priced air tickets must be purchased to allow for date changes and cancellation due to the uncertainty presented by late visa authorizations when they are granted. Last minute changes in tickets to accommodate late issuance of visas also generate increased administrative costs. UNDP officials travelling to New York on official business encounter difficulty in purchasing plane tickets from Cuba to the United States, having to look for routes that will take them to the United States through multiple connections and at much higher rates. This results in missions with a final cost higher than budgeted, as they are routed through Canada, Mexico or Panama, which increases costs and travel time. Finally long-serving UNDP national staff members who hold private saving accounts in the United Nations Federal Credit Union in New York had their private saving accounts frozen when they entered into retirement due to United States restrictions on Cuban nationals having transactions with United States-based financial institutions.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
[Original: English] [10 June 2009] As the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is not a funding agency but a specialized technical agency within the United Nations system, it is difficult to quantify the damage caused by the embargo to programmes run by UNESCO within its fields of competence: education, science, culture and communications and information. The embargo continues to have an impact from the qualitative point of view, however. The situation has remained relatively unchanged since 2008. In the area of education, the embargo continues to have an impact on the availability of educational resources, linked to trade restrictions that prevent their purchase at more

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competitive prices. In the area of science, the embargo continues to limit the ability to purchase up-to-date scientific materials, and scientific academic and professional exchanges continue to be limited by visa policies that make travel and study movement difficult. In the area of culture, the embargo continues to have an impact on the ability to obtain historic preservation materials, supplies for cultural industries and cooperation with American institutions that might otherwise collaborate, including exchanges. In the area of communications and information, Cuba remains unable to acquire underwater fibre-optic cables handled by United States firms, software licences and certain equipment. The embargo also has impacts on the operations of the UNESCO Office in Havana resulting in additional costs for UNESCO in tickets and communications. Staff and their families are also affected personally in bank transfers and international communications.

United Nations Environment Programme
[Original: English] [8 June 2009] Impact of the embargo A general analysis of the impact of the embargo imposed by the United States demonstrates that Cuba’s capacity for environmental protection has been significantly hampered in recent years. Moreover, the continuing embargo means that opportunities for environmental cooperation in the region are being missed. Examples of impacts linked with the embargo are outlined below: (a) Due to diminished trade between United States companies and Cuba, cargo travel times to Cuba are frequently longer thus increasing carbon emissions associated with transportation; (b) Cuba decided to increase energy efficiency, under its energy revolution programme in 2004. The aim is to decrease oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Promotion of energy-efficient technologies and techniques is a key priority for both Cuba and the United States. However, technologies that could benefit the region but contain parts or components provided by American companies or subsidiaries (as well as by Japan and the Republic of Korea) that could assist in advancing such developments cannot currently be sold to Cuba; (c) Cuba is one of the world’s leaders in biological research, with thousands of graduates from the country’s 10 universities and institutes devoted to working in ecology. Cuba also possesses significant knowledge in natural resources conservation, including solar and wind energy use for energy generation. However, the participation of Cuban experts in conferences and training activities is often constrained by travel restrictions and thousands of dollars are spent for more expensive and often longer routes for travel; (d) The embargo also restricts Cuba’s access to information from leading scientific and technical journals and publications, as well as Internet access to specialized companies and institutions in the United States. This limits access by Cuban academics, engineers and students to cutting-edge developments in energy

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and environmental sciences, which could increase the use of sound environmental technologies; (e) Similarly, information exchanges between scientific and academic networks and communities in areas related to the environment, as well as joint studies of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, which were increasing in the 1990s under limited licences, were completely banned after 2000. This has led to a serious decline in collaborative information-exchange and research work for the scientific communities of both countries; (f) Both the United States and Cuba have an interest in oil exploration and exploitation in shared marine areas. Joint environmental impact studies and environmentally friendly methods of operation are currently not possible as a result of the embargo; (g) Both countries are located in regions with critical biological corridors that could benefit from full regional cooperation; (h) The United States and Cuba are located in a region where disasters, particularly hurricanes, are seriously affecting ecosystems and populations. Both countries are working to attain higher levels of prevention of and preparation for disasters. In this sense, cooperation would benefit both countries, as well as other countries of the wider Caribbean area; (i) Cuba has been recognized under various criteria as a country that has given high priority to the environment and sustainable development. A World Wildlife Fund study on ecological footprints described Cuba as the only country with a high UNDP human development index and a very low environmental footprint. However, according to Cuban authorities, the economic damage of the United States embargo against Cuba is equivalent to 1.6 times the country’s GDP, and 12 times its external debt in 2006. Access to international loans and international financial institutions is also being hampered. This has led to the general claims by Cuba of hampering of its sustainability efforts. The elimination of the obstacles that limit normal exchanges between the two countries would contribute to advancement in sustainable management of shared ecosystems, cooperation between scientific and academic communities and the increased contribution of both countries to the fight against climate change. It would promote the conservation of biodiversity, efforts in biosafety, adaptation and prevention of natural disasters and the attainment of environmental sustainability. It would also benefit other countries where both countries have cooperative programmes. Summary of the work of the United Nations Environment Programme in Cuba Programmes by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) benefit from knowledge transfer, capacity-building and technical support from Cuba to other countries, for example through the Centre for Global Economy Studies, which is one of the selected centres of excellence in UNEP for assessment-related activities. Cuban experts also provided support in the rehabilitation of Jamaica after hurricane Ivan. UNEP supports a tri-national cooperation agreement between Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, recently amended to include Jamaica as an observer,

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for the implementation of a Caribbean biological corridor between these countries. The project will be implemented over a 36-month period and Cuba has the capacity to play a significant role in the provision of technical services to the project. The work of UNEP in Cuba is mainly focused on energy, climate change and ecosystem management. In this regard, UNEP has a number of activities being implemented in Cuba that are not directly affected by the embargo. These include its contribution to the United Nations development assistance framework for 2008-2012 in Cuba and its provision of services to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region, to which Cuba is a party. Finally, as one of the implementing agencies of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), UNEP is carrying out 10 GEF projects in Cuba, including (a) generation and delivery of renewable energy-based modern energy services in Cuba: the case of Isla de la Juventud; (b) integrating watershed coastal and coastal area management in the small island developing States of the Caribbean; (c) completion and strengthening of a national biosafety framework for the effective implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; and others.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme
[Original: English] [26 May 2009] The impact of the embargo has two elements as far as the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is concerned. The first relates to long-term impact, which has negative implications for: (a) A stable and speedy supply of imported construction materials, tools and equipment, as well as energy and raw materials for the construction and maintenance of human settlements, as well as their reconstruction after natural disasters; (b) The transfer of more efficient and ecologically sound technologies and the use of patents originating from the United States or commercialized by United States companies and other companies around the world; (c) Access to energy, energy-saving technologies and oil as important assets in the provision of basic urban services such as transport, solid waste collection and disposal, water supply and sanitation, and emergency response to hazards, such as fires, floods and hurricanes, so that Cubans can use efficient and environmentally sustainable alternatives; (d) Access to low-cost chemicals and equipment for water and wastewater treatment to improve the quality and affordability of these services and their impact on environmental and public health; (e) The resolution of outstanding claims on properties previously owned by United States citizens or naturalized Cuban citizens, which is necessary for the use and rehabilitation of important facilities and the rationality and coherence of urban and real estate development;

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(f) Visa and travel permits are needed for scientific, technical and cultural exchanges, particularly for planners, architects, engineers and social scientists to advise their Cuban counterparts in the design, planning and managements of housing and human settlements. In essence, from the human settlements perspective, the implementation of General Assembly resolution 63/7 will improve the social, economic and environmental effects on human settlements, planning and management and environmental health, particularly for the poor and disadvantaged segments of the population. The second element is in relation to the following latest relevant activities since June 2008, which have continued despite the embargo: (a) UN-Habitat has worked in collaboration with its counterparts in the Cuban National Housing Institute and the Physical Planning Institute, developing technical cooperation projects. In June 2008, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat was invited to Havana to sign a cooperation agreement on sustainable human settlements and urban environmental management; (b) After hurricanes Gustave and Ike, UN-Habitat has actively participated in the reconstruction process in the affected areas through local capacity-building in planning and housing reconstruction with 6,480 affected families; (c) UN-Habitat plays an active role in the United Nations country team and is currently developing a country programme document for collaborative projects between UN-Habitat and the Government for 2009-2010 to be published shortly; (d) Given the magnitude and complexity of the recovery process after the hurricanes, an immediate focus is on strengthening capacities at the local level to house victims, based on promoting self-help reconstruction with the help of local governments and housing authorities. All the above UN-Habitat activities have been negatively affected by the embargo, which UN-Habitat recommends to be removed.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization
[Original: English] [3 July 2009] As previously reported, it is the view of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) that the embargo continues to have a negative impact on Cuba’s economic development. The situation has been further aggravated by the current global financial crisis and the natural disasters that hit the country during 2008. Although UNIDO is continuing to cooperate with Cuba in several technical fields, the long-term benefit to the country of such cooperation may be diminished by the prolonged embargo. At present, UNIDO is implementing programmes that focus on energy efficiency and alternative sources of energy; cleaner production and sustainable management of the environment; and the total phase-out of methyl bromide in soil fumigation, substrates, storage and structures. The programmes are funded by the Governments of Austria and Switzerland, the Global Environment Facility, the

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Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the UNIDO regular budget.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
[Original: English] [29 April 2009] The Caribbean region is increasingly confronted with a number of serious challenges related to the trafficking of illicit drugs. Together with other Caribbean countries, Cuba finds itself in between the world’s largest cocaine producers in Latin America and the world’s largest drug consumers, North America and Europe. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is developing a series of initiatives to support the Caribbean region in their efforts to counter these challenges. UNODC and the Dominican Republic jointly organized a ministerial conference on “Illicit drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and terrorism as challenges for security and development in the Caribbean”, held in Santo Domingo from 17 to 20 February 2009. Cuba, together with the other Caribbean countries participating in the conference, signed a political declaration, the Santo Domingo Pact, recommending the adoption of a plan of action for the Caribbean and a partnership and monitoring mechanism. Prior to the ministerial conference, the Executive Director of UNODC had visited Cuba on 16 February 2009 and held a meeting with senior authorities (Minister for Foreign Affairs, Felipe Pérez Roque and First Vice President, Council of State in Cuba, José Ramón Machado) reaffirming that UNODC considers Cuba an essential partner for the implementation of the political declaration and action plan for the Caribbean and welcoming the opportunity to further cooperate with Cuba. The Santo Domingo Pact will provide the different stakeholders with a monitoring mechanism for all action being developed in the region and allow a concerted identification of problem areas in the Caribbean and actions required to address them, thereby improving the opportunities for cooperation and synergies in the region. In order to achieve these objectives, a consultative mechanism and an Internet-based automated donor assistance database will be established with a coordination and administration role in the region. Through this mechanism, assistance priorities and gaps can be jointly identified and reviewed, and policy level decisions taken on resource allocations and funding for priority needs. The inclusion of Cuba in the partnership and monitoring mechanism will strengthen the country’s cooperation with their regional counterparts. In this context, it is important that Cuban law enforcement authorities have access to compatible procedures, infrastructure and technology to facilitate the implementation of the mechanism. It will be imperative to support resource mobilization for the implementation of the plan of action, including in Cuba, to be invested in the strategic areas of research, rule of law and health and human development, as foreseen in the plan of action. UNODC operations in the Caribbean, including in Cuba, should be further

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expanded and the Office continues to proactively search for funds to support its many activities.

United Nations Population Fund
[Original: English] [11 May 2009] The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has systematically prepared reports on the effects of the commercial, economic and financial embargo by the United States on Cuba. Since the last report, which was submitted in May 2008, the main measures of the embargo have stayed intact and were fully enforced. The embargo has affected the quality of life of Cubans, particularly the most vulnerable groups. The United States embargo was particularly hard felt during the last quarter of 2008, when the island was hit by three powerful hurricanes and two tropical storms, and the first quarter of 2009 during the post-hurricane recovery phase. Both the regular programme, as well as the humanitarian support projects that were implemented by UNFPA in response to the damage and disruption caused by the hurricanes, were negatively affected by the embargo. The effects of the embargo imposed an additional financial burden on UNFPA operations and the commercial barriers affected its ability to procure equipment, medicines and laboratory materials produced by companies operating in the United States or covered by United States patents. This not only limited choice but oftentimes also resulted in higher prices. In its response to the emergency, UNFPA was able to procure much needed reproductive health emergency kits for clinical delivery assistance, reusable equipment, obstetric surgical interventions, intravenous antibiotic treatment for puerperal sepsis and pelvic inflammatory disease and medical equipment (bed monitors, autoclave, ultrasound machine, anaesthesia machine). Most of the commodities and equipment had to be purchased in Europe or Asia, however, with a consequent substantial increase in cost, mainly due to high airfreight charges, and delay in delivery. Between April 2007 and May 2008 the direct negative effect of the United States embargo on the Cuban health sector was estimated at $25 million. It is plausible that the effect on the health sector was even greater during the past year, as a result of: (a) the impact of the natural disasters; (b) the current worldwide financial and economical crisis; and (c) the increase in prices of commodities and food. The United States embargo was specifically felt in the programme for safe motherhood, support for emergency obstetric care and the supply of reproductive health commodities. As an example of the restrictions that affected the work of UNFPA, import of United States-made medical supplies, such as mammogram film and medical textbooks, is not permitted. Cuba is located in a region where the HIV/AIDS infection rate is the second highest in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, due in part to the support obtained from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as from organizations such as UNFPA, Cuba has managed to maintain a prevalence rate that is one of the lowest in the world. The overall incidence of sexually transmitted infections has also declined. Cases of HIV are increasing

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among women, however, and while the availability of condoms has improved, other commodities are still below the required quantity. Until Cuba developed its own drugs in 2001, there were no antiretroviral drugs available on the island because of the United States embargo. Cuba cannot import equipment and technology from United States pharmaceutical companies for diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS. In addition to the health sector, other population issues affected by the restrictions include migration, youth, family planning, sexual and reproductive health and changes in the age structure. For example, the economic embargo has negatively affected the ability to deliver services to Cuba’s growing elderly population, as a result of shortages of medical supplies, equipment for nursing homes and day-care centres. The effect on the elderly population in Cuba will be felt even more strongly as that segment of Cuba’s population starts to represent an even larger proportion of its total population. In general, easy access to products, office materials, computers and other supplies would greatly improve the implementation of the various social programmes supported by UNFPA, such as the sexuality education programme in high schools and pedagogic universities. Without the limitations of the embargo, UNFPA could better support the programme of health care for pregnant women at high risk that is implemented by the Ministry of Public Health. UNFPA could contribute through the purchase of different kinds of contraceptives from United States pharmaceutical companies and also contribute to cover the demand for information and educational materials. It is believed that the quantity of contraceptives and the range of choice for Cuban women could be greatly improved if these commodities could be procured directly from United States companies. International sources of assistance to Cuba are very limited. UNFPA is one of the very few sources of finance to support sexual and reproductive health, population and development and gender programmes. Cooperation from UNFPA is helping to build national capacity and to develop best practices that may also benefit other countries in the region. Important results have been achieved by Cuba, but continued support is essential to help attain the national goals and the internationally agreed development goals as set forth in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, as well as the Millennium Development Goals.

Universal Postal Union
[Original: English] [8 June 2009] As a specialized agency of the United Nations, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) is not directly involved in implementing General Assembly resolution 63/7, which only affects Member States. UPU has always regarded Cuba as a fully fledged member of the Union. As such, Cuba enjoys the same rights and obligations as other UPU members. In recent times, Cuba has benefited from UPU assistance in the field of regional reform and modernization, training and cost accounting projects. Furthermore, Cuba plays an active role in the activities of UPU and its bodies. For example, Cuba was elected as a member of the UPU Council of Administration

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and Postal Operation Council at the UPU Congress in 2008 and serves on a number of the Council’s committees and working groups.

World Food Programme
[Original: English] [13 May 2009] The United States embargo continues to severely limit trade and has a direct impact on the capacity and efficiency of Cuba’s logistics infrastructure (port, warehousing, commodity tracking), food processing, water distribution and agricultural production. The efficiency of the food-based social safety nets of the Government, which are instrumental to household food security, is thereby negatively affected. Combined with, and partly contributing to, deteriorating land and water quality, these factors have an impact on the well-being of the people. Micronutrient deficiencies are a concern. Anaemia prevalence is high, especially among children under 2 years of age, jeopardizing their development potential. The impact is stronger in the eastern provinces, where food insecurity is higher. In 2008, these factors were felt even more acutely due to the impact of the hurricanes that struck Cuba. The procurement and shipment of emergency food and non-food aid was delayed because of the above-mentioned logistical challenges; the development project assisted by the World Food Programme (WFP) is also delayed owing to the difficulties in purchasing and shipping materials. Because of the embargo, vessels are obliged to make a stopover in a neighbouring country for trans-shipment. This causes delays and additional costs, which also affect WFP shipments.

World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization
[Original: English/Spanish] [21 July 2009] Impact at the country level According to the Government of Cuba, in strictly economic terms the cumulative impact on health since the beginning of the embargo is $2,318 million. The impact of the embargo on health for the period from May 2008 to April 2009 is estimated to be $25 million. The economic embargo limits the progress of public health in Cuba overall by preventing Cuba from accessing funding through loans and donations from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. The impact on specific areas of public health includes limitations on upgrading Cuba’s basic sanitary infrastructure and limiting access to public health goods (both medicines and medical equipment and supplies), including scientific knowledge. The need for alternative medical suppliers is reflected in higher costs and in using secondary options for treatment, contributing to poorer health and, by extension, affecting the quality of life of the people of Cuba. This, however, is difficult to measure in economic and social terms. The cases below are illustrative: (a) The embargo limits the country’s access to scientific knowledge. The country has limited access to the Internet. Despite having satellite connection, as a

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result of the embargo Cuba has not been able to install a submarine fibre-optic line. This has hindered Cuba’s participation in virtual forums, scientific communities of practice and relevant research events and limited its access to open-source software. Notwithstanding its recognized advances in science and innovation, Cuba’s scientific community is at a disadvantage because of its limited access to fellowships and grants from the United States. Additionally, Cuban scientists cannot subscribe to American scientific journals and American scientists are not allowed to subscribe to Cuban journals. This situation is detrimental not only to both countries but to global science and development, whose advancement requires access to the scientific output of all countries; (b) The embargo has an impact on individual health care. Several highly specialized health facilities have reported functional limitations due to their lack of access to health technology, medical supplies and medicines. Such is the case for those in need of flow cytometers and immunologic diagnostic kits for malign blood diseases (produced by Becton and Dickinson). Furthermore, the Oncology Pediatrics Department has not been able to perform appropriate conservative and functional treatment for children and youth suffering from bone cancers owing to the lack of access to expandable prostheses produced by American companies. The HIV/AIDS programme has been affected by the limited access to paediatric antiretroviral drugs (Saquinavir and Ritonavir) produced by Abbot and Bristol-Meyers. Pharmaceutical distributors of such drugs cannot supply Cuba since they do not have the required permits from the United States Treasury Department. During the response to the public health emergency due to the Influenza A H1N1 virus, the delivery of the antiviral Oseltamivir was delayed because pharmaceutical laboratories from India needed to be contracted. Shipping protein chain reaction laboratory equipment was also delayed because the equipment is produced in the United States. Furthermore, the personal protection equipment donated by the United States Agency for International Development and stockpiled by the Pan American Health Organization to respond to an emergency of this nature could not be delivered to Cuba due to restrictions from the donor. Impact on technical cooperation The Government of Cuba requested the assistance of the United Nations to respond to public health emergencies and disasters caused by multiple hurricanes that affected the country at the end 2008. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) experienced difficulties in responding effectively and in a timely fashion in mobilizing the resources needed to respond, since some of the providers were unable to deliver due to the restrictions imposed by the United States. Such was the case for the acquisition of canine rabies vaccine produced by Merial, a Mexican company with United States capital. After months of negotiations, the purchase was directed to a French laboratory; however, the delivery of the vaccines was delayed. Another case is related to the purchase of ultrasound equipment from Comercial Caribeña, a company located in Guatemala that uses parts from the United States and which could not therefore deliver the equipment ordered by hospitals in Cuba. The economic embargo on Cuba has affected the implementation of the technical cooperation programme of the PAHO/WHO Country Office. The PAHO/WHO makes consolidated purchases from Dell for its institutional needs in

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information technology, but the PAHO/WHO Cuba Country Office is supplied with computers distributed by European companies, representing higher costs and additional workload. Also, because of the limited Internet connectivity in the country, PAHO/WHO was forced to buy and install a satellite antenna in order to cover the needs for communication between the Country Office, other country offices and headquarters. Additionally, the Cuba Office does not have access to software used by the rest of the Organization, such as Acrobat, Java or Google Earth. The limitation on software compatibility has either limited or made difficult the work of the Cuba Office. In addition, the cost for international travel is increased because of the ban on purchase of air tickets that originate in or go to Havana. The need to buy tickets through a third country increases the costs of technical cooperation. The economic embargo on Cuba has also affected the professional development of the staff of the PAHO/WHO Office. The Office was recognized as an “outstanding team” in 2008. However, three staff members could not participate in the annual awards ceremony held in Washington, D.C., because their visas to enter the United States were not approved.

World Intellectual Property Organization
[Original: English] [19 May 2009] As a result of the embargo, the following circumstances have been observed in Cuba in detriment to the country’s advancement in the field of intellectual property and with a direct impact on its technological, economic and cultural development: (a) Visa restrictions hinder the possibilities of Cuban intellectual property professionals to participate in regular training programmes, meetings and other events organized in the United States by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); (b) Restricted telecommunications infrastructure also hinders the widespread dissemination of WIPO online distance learning courses, despite the efforts and commitment of local authorities to foster a nationwide culture of respect for intellectual property; (c) Poor telecommunication facilities also have a negative impact on and obstruct the access of Cuban nationals to WIPO online databases (including PATENTSCOPE® and other free patent search services) and other digital services in the field of intellectual property; (d) The embargo also affects the availability of information technology equipment and software for the performance of administrative operations regarding filing-granting procedures, in particular patent and trademarks search and examination services. Although the country is administratively equipped to perform such functions thanks to the presence of provincial branches of the Cuban Industrial Property Office, the lack of specialized software critically hinders such performance. External procurement formalities to obtain the required equipment and software are extremely burdensome. This situation stifles the possibility to take full advantage of the functionalities (further customization and expansion to the needs of specific users) available under the WIPO Intellectual Property Automated System,

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since some of the System’s operating tools are not freely accessible for users in Cuba; (e) The extraterritorial effects of the embargo extend to the financial area as well. Payments from Cuba to WIPO under the WIPO-administered treaties (Patent Cooperation Treaty, Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks) may only be effected in euros or Swiss francs, not in United States dollars, in order to avoid the restrictions imposed by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control. Likewise, payments from WIPO to the Cuban Intellectual Property Office in the framework of the Madrid system must be made in the same currencies. The cost of these indirect transactions for the purpose of avoiding the United States banks causes financial losses and discourages the use by Cuban nationals of the Patent Cooperation Treaty and Madrid Agreement systems; (f) According to information received from the Cuban Association of Musical Authors and other non-governmental organizations involved in the promotion of Cuban culture abroad, in the fields of visual arts and film-making, restrictions impeding access to the United States market of cultural goods and services hinder the exercise of a number of rights granted to Cuban authors and other rightholders by WIPO-administered treaties in the area of copyright and related rights and the development of local copyright industries in Cuba, such as publishing, music, film and television industries, and other media. Some examples illustrate this point: (i) Cuban artists are not allowed to conclude commercial contracts for performances in the United States. Despite attempts by the United States to soften legal restrictions to allow Cuban authors to receive remuneration for public performance and broadcasting of their works taking place in its territory, the right to collect royalties through music publishers, representing agencies or institutions marketing Cuban cultural and artistic productions is still subject to significant restrictions. Similar limitations are imposed regarding the publication of Cuban literary and scientific works in United States territory; (ii) Visual artworks from Cuba cannot easily enter the United States art market, particularly in the case of commercial exhibitions and auctions. Museums and cultural groups face significant obstacles that impede their ability to exhibit Cuban works even though cultural exchanges are still permitted under the embargo; (iii) Cuban film producers are banned from co-producing movies with United States companies or participating in co-productions with third countries if they involve transaction with United States companies.

World Meteorological Organization
[Original: English] [22 May 2009] The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has been providing support to projects, meteorological equipment and instruments as well as co-sponsoring meteorological conferences. In this context, the following information is relevant:

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(a) As a member of WMO, Cuba benefits from WMO global and regional services, receiving publications and other materials. Cuba takes part in activities of WMO such as meetings, workshops and courses; (b) WMO maintains collaborative relations with all Caribbean States, including Cuba, which is a member of WMO Regional Association IV (North America, Central America and the Caribbean); (c) Cuba participates in projects covering the Caribbean area, such as the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Caribbean project, and benefits from them.

World Tourism Organization
[Original: English] [2 July 2009] The most significant facts affecting Cuban tourism development are: (a) The exclusion of Cuba being excluded from the United States tourism generating market, which implies, according to the estimates of experts, that approximately 35 million United States citizens have not visited the island since the beginning of the embargo. This represents a loss in revenue for the Cuban tourism industry of around $23 billion; (b) The Torricelli Amendment (1992) led to Cuba being left out of the cruise business, which is a growing economic source of revenue for host countries; (c) used; (d) Cuban tourism companies have no access to supplies and input for the operations of their tourism industry from United States suppliers, increasing significantly the cost of their imports and as a consequence decreasing their competitiveness; (e) No travel agency in the United States is allowed to include in their catalogues Cuba’s tourism products and services. Although these facts are not limited to the reporting period (i.e., since June 2008) they reflect, in general, the overall effects of the United States embargo on the Cuban tourism industry over the years. Online travel sales are difficult because American credit cards cannot be

World Trade Organization
[Original: English] [22 May 2009] Although in the World Trade Organization members do not address the implementation of United Nations resolutions, in the light of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, there are various forums and mechanisms in the World Trade Organization where the United States, Cuba and other members can address issues relating to their rights and

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obligations. These include, inter alia, obligations with regard to non-discrimination, prohibition of quotas and the possibility of invoking exceptions to these obligations. As in previous years, in 2008 this issue was raised in a number of instances, including in the Dispute Settlement Body on 21 January, 19 February, 14 March, 18 April, 24 June, 1 and 29 August, 23 September, 21 October, 17 November and 22 December 2008, as well as in the Negotiating Group on Non-Agricultural Market Access. It was also referred to at the trade policy review of the United States, which took place on 9 and 11 June 2008.